The Legend of Dimitri and Syra: A New Dawn
by HKGhost
Summary: The Dragon Realms are at war, and the prophesied purple savior is no where to be found. Chaos rules, and the remaining Guardians are reduced to guerrilla warfare. But A new dawn is coming, and with it brings two heroes. Can face they Dark Master, and keep the light of hope shining? Only time will tell...
1. Prologue

The Legend of Dimitri and Syra:

A New Dawn

Prologue: What if…

What if, a question that has inspired many a story about the legendary Spyro and Cynder. What if… Thing happened differently during their first adventure?

What if… Their positions were switched?

What if… There was a human involved?

What if… Spyro had two other dragons with him?

The question I ask has only been asked by one other, and we have come to different answers.

What if… None escaped the night of the temple raid?

What if… A different hero had to answer the call?

What if… They had a friend?

And that, my friends, is where our story begins.


	2. The Escaped Child

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter one: An escaped child

A black dragoness ran through Concurrent Skies. She was only ten years old, still considered a hatchling by many. If you were to look at her, you would say that she looked like a much younger version of Cynder, the Terror of the Skies. And you would be right. As the youngling ran through the maze of glowing blue crystals, an unfortunate ape got in her way. The youngling did not hesitate. Without breaking her stride, she leapt towards to ape, spinning around and slashing his throat out with her metallic and scythe-like tail spade. Her paws collided with the ape's chest and pushed him down. Her tail blade, for it was more of a blade then the bone-like spade that grew out of the tip of most dragons tails, was covered in blood, hiding its true color. She ran on, not looking back at the dead ape's body.

Another ape was in her way now. She lowered her head, not stopping. When she felt her horns come into contact with the apes gut, she tossed her head back, shoving her horns all the way into the ape's chest and tossing its dying body over her head. Now her horns were covered in blood, their colors hidden as well. Two more apes, these two were running to a warning bell in hopes of reinforcements. The hatchling couldn't have that. Acting quickly, she unleashed a piercing shriek with visible sound waves that were laced with bright crimson energy, her Fear element. The sound waves crashed into the apes, their eyes widening and legs refusing to work as the fear element did its work.

The hatchling pounced on one of the apes. She rapidly raked her claws across the ape's chest and neck, tearing open his throat and ribcage. Her chest and gut were now covered in blood as well. She whipped her head around when she heard the remaining ape slam his crude club on the warning bell. Her Siren Scream was under powered due to her lack of experience and power, so he recovered faster. She opened her mouth and let loose a blast of shadow fire. The black cloud flew to the second ape, clinging to his body and covering his head. The shadow fire burned like acid, but didn't consume flesh, choked and blinded the ape. The hatchling didn't like using shadow fire that much. But thankfully there were many other ways to use the shadow element.

Her eyes widened in horror when she heard the single toll of the warning bells all around Concurrent Skies. The warning bell system was simple; each warning bell was in hearing range of the others, so when one went off, the others would sound their bells too. Two tolls meant attack by dragons, three meant cheetahs, etc., etc. One toll, however, meant that the hatchling had escaped, again. The single toll spread towards the massive tower in the center of Concurrent Skies. The hatchlings eyes widened as she heard a faint roar come from the tower. She then turned around and started running faster.

The apes now knew that she was coming. Three of them formed a semi-circle up ahead. The hatchling shot a small, concentrated ball of fear energy at the one on the right. The fear element actually killed the ape by literally scaring him to death. The ape in the middle threw a stick of dynamite at the hatchling. She rolled to the side and into the shadows. The ape stares in disbelief as the hatchling disappears. Suddenly, she bursts out of the shadows in front of the ape in the middle. She raked her claws upward, slicing him from waist to chin, before spinning round and slashing out his throat. She landed and whipped her head to the last ape, opening her mouth and blasting out her shadow fire and killing him. While she didn't like using it, she had to admit it was very effective.

The hatchling took off running again. She was getting closer to the edge of Concurrent Skies. She had never made it this far before. The hatchling was so caught up in her success; she didn't realize until too late that so had run into a spotlight. A jagged bolt of purple lighting raced from its tower and slammed into the chest of the hatchling. She screamed out in pain as the electricity arced all over her body. It felt like someone was slamming lead bars into wherever the electricity touched. She collapsed on her gut, one of her legs twitching. An ape commander picked her up by the scruff of her neck.

"You've never made it this far before, whelp." the ape said tauntingly. "So I guess the training the general forces you to do actually does pay off." The hatchling looked the commander up and down. He would have been three times her size, if she had been standing. He was wearing iron plate armor that had a dark, blackish-purple sheen to it, as well as a gold trim. Looking around, she saw he had five other ape leaders with him that had a similar color scheme to their armor. Their chests would have been level with the top of her skull, if she had been standing

"You reap what you sow." the hatchling said nonchalantly "Speaking of which, I think some of the apes I left behind will need some sowing up." she said with a chuckle. The ape snarled angrily

"The general isn't here yet, so I am going to have a bit of fun as payback to what you did to my men." the ape commander growled out, angered by her apparent disrespect for the lives she had taken.

"You're going to have fun? Wow, I never knew you were a masochist." The hatchling said with a surprised voice "I guess you learn new something every day."

"What's a masochist?" one of the smaller apes asked.

"A masochist is an idiot with something wrong in their head. They think it is fun to get hurt and be in pain." the ape commander said.

"Exactly." the hatchling said with a devilish smile. In quick succession, she slashed the commander three times in the gut. He dropped her, covering his cut open gut with his arms. She swung her claws at his left leg, causing him to shift his weight to his right leg. The hatchling wrapped tail around his right ankle and pulled hard, pulling the ape off his feet and causing him to fall flat on his back. She leapt onto his chest and drove her tail blade into his throat. She jumped and flapped her wings at the same time, the flapping causing her to jump higher. She landed on an ape, her hind paws on his shoulders; her claws digging into his flesh and tail bade stabbing into his back for balance. With her free forepaws, she rapidly slashed her across his face and throat. The ape choked his own blood as he died

She turned her head and shot out a small, concentrated ball of fear energy at another ape. This had the same effect as the last, death by terror. An ape ran at her, screaming his war cries. She duked under his blow and covered her right forepaw with gauntlet that was made from shadows; at the tips of the gauntlet were blades made from her shadow ability. She swung her bladed shadow gauntlet and it cut through the armored ape like a knife through butter. That was four of the six apes dead.

Before she could move another ape slammed his shoulder into her side. She stumbled and dodged up in time to avoid the downward swing from his scimitar. The hatchling slammed her head into his gut with tremendous force, sending him flying into the air. She jumped up and spun forward, driving her tail blade into the ape's skull and sending both of them falling to the earth.

She tried to pull out her tail blade, but it was lodged in the dead ape's skull. It was dislodged when the last ape rammed his shoulder into her side. She was sent flying into one of the towering crystals by the contact. The ape pressed his advantage, charging forward and slashing down with his axe. The hatchling rolled to the side just in time to miss the axe, the weapon instead cutting into the crystal she had been thrown into. The crystal let out a large burst of electricity as the axe cleaved into it. He died quickly.

Not dawdling, she started to run again. The hatchling could now see the edge of Concurrent Skies. She laughed breathlessly, she had made it! She now had her life's dream in running distance! _So close! _She thought. Then it all fell apart. The hatchling skidded to a stop as a large, dark purple dragon landed in front of her. He stood there and asked "Where are you going, little one?"

"M-m-aster!" the hatchling stuttered, true fear welling in her for the first time since she attempted to escape. While she did not except him as he true master, she refused to call him by his other names. "I'm running away!" she stated, her courage plucking up.

"Now why would you do that," the malevolent purple dragon asked, "and leave our protective circle?"

"Protective!" the hatchling raged. "Your soldiers beat me constantly! And when it's not that, you let Aiden beat on me in 'training', as you so call it!"

"Well it must work!" the purple dragon shot back, "You've made through Concurrent Skies almost undetected, killing apes easily on your way! And you took your fair share of blows, little one, but not one slowed you down!" The Hatchling noticed that apes began to circle the two dragons.

"You really shouldn't talk to her like that," The hatchling froze at the sophisticated, feminine voice from behind. She turned and saw a second large dragon emerge from the shadows. This one was female, with black scales, an underbelly the color of freshly spilt blood, and cruel green eyes.

"You'll scare her away." the female dragon continued.

"I should have known you'd show up sooner or later, Cynder." The purple dragon said "But your late, are you getting slow?" He continued to taunt.

"The only thing slowing is your soldiers." The female now identified as Cynder replied. "If it was my forces, she would have been caught by now." The purple dragon growled.

"Your 'forces' are cowards; hiding behind their dreadwings and running from real combat!" Cynder growled at the insult: she turned to the hatchling and said,

"Come, I do not want to be around his stupidity anymore" She said, motioning to the purple dragon with her head.

"No…" The hatchling said through grit teeth, "I am _not_ going _anywhere _with _either _of you!" Her body shook with uncontainable anger and power "I. AM. FREE!" The hatchling shouted, rearing on her hind legs and throwing out her wings, unleashing a massive fire fury that incinerated the closest apes and sent the two adult dragons flying backwards. She cut the fury short, needing the energy if she is to escape. She ran right to the edge of the floating island that is Concurrent Skies. She turned around and laughed, saying "Good bye won't be missing you!"

She reared up on her hind legs again, but this time released a shadow fury. Only, instead of spreading outwards, it surrounded her, not going one foot away from her body. The fury then collapsed in on her, and the hatchling was gone.

"What the heck…?" The purple dragon questioned as he got up. "When were her furies ever that powerful?"

"I don't know," Cynder replied. "But she is much stronger than the last time she escaped. What she just did, she harnessed the power of her shadow fury and used it to shift somewhere else. I can't even do that yet."

"Great. She's gone. It is a good thing that the master doesn't know about your failure."

"My failure! It was your soldiers that couldn't stop her! It's more your fault than mine!"

"At least I didn't let her escape! She was in your custardy!"

"I'll gut you for your insolence!"

"Have fun trying!"

The two dragons' argument dissolved into a fight, both dragons using only tooth and claw to bring as much pain as possible, knowing that killing each other would only result in punishment from their master. The apes did little to stop it, yelling encouragement to the male instead. The fight ended when the male grabbed Cynder's forearm and flung into a crystal.

"I hate you, Spyro, Terror of the Lands, The Fallen Savior." Cynder spat out as she got up.

"And I hate you, Cynder, Terror of the Skies, The Queen of Darkness." The purple male, now identified as Spyro, replied.

* * *

The hatchling's eyes, a bright amethyst shade, fluttered open, and instead of a dark holding cell, she saw the sun. The bright light caused her to close her eyes and groan. She then realized the full meaning of such a bright, clear day, for it is always stormy in Concurrent Skies. She was free. She tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell instead. Looking around, she found herself in a swamp. Mushrooms the size of trees were everywhere. But she didn't care. It wasn't Concurrent Skies, and for that reason alone she loved the place. There was a large puddle not too far off from where she lay. She dragged herself over there and took long drinks from the water. When she had drunk her fill, she crawled into the puddle and began washing off the blood that covered her body. When she was done, the true color of her wings, underbelly, tail blade, and horns were revealed. They were all a rich, shining gold color. The cleaning had also revealed the small streaks of crimson red and fiery orange that dotted her hide.

She chuckled to herself. A butterfly was flitting around nearby, and she was enticed by its beauty. "Hello there," She cooed to the butterfly, "My name is Syra, and I'm finally free."


	3. The White Knight

**A/N: Hey! This is Shadow, posting this story and speaking! This is my first story, and I've more or less learned how to do author notes. To those of you notice, the ending of that last chapter was kinda sloppy, so I went back and fixed it up. I encourage you to read because it tells you Syra's eye color. If you don't read it, stinks to be you because I won't mention it till the next chapter. Read on, enjoy, and please leave a review. Constructive criticism and complements are welcome. Please do not flame me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs, as well as the concept of the 'Knights of Warfang'**

Chapter two: The White Knight

An ice dragon lay on a large pillow in the center of the room. His scales were snow white, and he had a light blue underbelly. On his left shoulder was a black medium sized tattoo of a heavily armored dragon in the fury pose, staring straight ahead. On the inside of his right forearm was a three of uniform scars, each the same length right next to each other. His wing membranes were also light blue, and his two horns were white. What's interesting about his wings is that there are uniform holes in them, one on either side if his wing fingers, at the base and at the tip. His horns started at the crown of his head and traveled to the back, the tips pointing down and covering the back of his skull; at the starting point jutted out two, fang shaped horns. His tail spade was the same shade as his under belly, and shaped like the blade of a gladuis. He is only twelve years old, but has the toned body of a soldier, with not a hint if baby fat on his long and lean body. He was even a little muscular. His eyes were strange, the one on the right being light blue, and the one on the left was a dark, blood red.

He was sleeping peacefully, a very light snore escaping his lips every now and then. There was still an hour or two before the sun even began to rise. Unfortunately for him, it was about to be disrupted. "Get up." demands a very annoying voice near his ear. "Come on you living snowball, get up!" The white dragon stirred in his sleep, groaning before saying "Go away, you overweight lighting bug."

"Lightning bug!" the voice said in indignation, "Who are you calling a lightning bug, you glorified newt!"

"You Sparx, now go away." The white dragon replied. A light flitted in front if his eyes and the dragon attempted to bury his head in his pillow, attempting to escape the brightness. "You know I get up with the sun, so let me get my needed sleep." The voice, a gold colored dragonfly named Sparx, crossed his twiggy arms over his chest and waited. The white dragon picked up his head and looked at Sparx. "Why are up? You're never up until a few hours before noon."

"The big guy has a message and told me to tell you" The white dragon was closer to being a wake now, but the veil of sleep still clouded his mind. "What did Master Ignitus say?" He said drowsily. Sparx straightened up and said in a very official voice, "The Guardian of Fire, Master Ignitus, requests the presence of Warfang's Knight of Ice, Iedus, as well as his apprentice, Dimitri, at the Pool of Visions at the break of dawn"

"Why didn't you say so in the first place!" the white dragon, now known as Dimitri, said, bolting up and now fully awake "You were asleep." Sparx replied. Dimitri sighed, "I am sorry for insulting you," he began "and not heeding your advice to wake, will you forgive me?" the white dragon asked sincerely.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I forgive ya'." The dragon fly said. "I already woke up Iedus, and he told me to help you with your armor." Dimitri might have been offended by the supposed need of help, but he knew better. He still had a bit of trouble getting on his armor by himself, and Sparx was a useful help.

"It is a good thing you roused me early than. I would've been late if not for you." The gold colored dragonfly looked as if to brag about his timing, but the white dragon stopped him. "Come, it will still take some time to get my armor on." He stood up from his bed, which was really a large cushion. The bed was in the center of room. Off to the left were a desk and a small bookcase half full. There is a balcony overlooking the swamp, behind the bed. There was a door at the wall in front of the bed. This was all pretty standard for a dragon of Dimitri's age who lived in the temple. Off to the left, however, was a mannequin of a dragon with a small cupboard beside it. The mannequin had full steel plate armor, designed for a dragon to wear, covering it. This was Dimitri's personal set of armor and colored white to match his scales.

Dimitri walked to the cupboard and opened it, revealing two sets of chain mail made to fit dragons. He slipped on both of them, one piece covering his upper half and neck, the other covering his lower half and tail. He turned to see Sparx carrying his first piece of armor, a gauntlet with bladed finger tips for his right forearm. Dimitri slipped it on and turned to see Sparx with another bladed gauntlet, one for his left forearm. And so the process went, Dimitri pulling on the smaller pieces of armor that Sparx handed to him. When they got to the larger pieces, such as the pauldruns and the chest and back plates, Dimitri held them on while Sparx fastened the straps and buckles.

After an hour of working they had got on all of the armor, except for Dimitri's helmet and a two other pieces. These pieces were large pieces of leather, which were known as wing sheaths, shaped so that when they were folded lengthwise they took on the shape of wings. They had holes in the same places as the holes in Dimitri's wings, on either side of his wing fingers. Sparx eyed the wing sheaths with disdain.

"I don't see how you can be so fanatical as to punch holes in your wings just for some extra protection." The dragonfly said.

"It's not just about protection," Dimitri stated, "It means I will do anything to protect Warfang and her people. Every Knight of Warfang has them. As well as my tattoo" The point of the holes in Dimitri's wings is so that the wing sheaths could be fastened on; straps would be fed through the holes and fasten the leather to his wings.

"Still think you're a fanatic." Sparx replied as he fastened the sheaths to Dimitri's wings. Dimitri just rolled his eyes.

He pulled on his helmet, which was specially designed to cover his whole head, and allow for his horns by holes for the fang like ones and grooves for the two along his head. Dimitri walked to his cushion in the center of the room and reached under it. Underneath the cushion was a leather sheath in the shape of his tail spade. It had a belt-like strap attached to tip of the sheath, and another one starting at one side of the opening and ending at the tip as well. He put it on, the belt-like strap going around his waist and the second strap wrapping around the inside of his hindquarter. After this was done, he slipped his tail spade into the sheath; the tip of it was facing forward and the opening backwards. When he pulled it out, there was a sharpened, metal sword-like sheath on his tail spade, shaped to fit on the gladuis-like spade.

He gave his now bladed tail spade a few experimental swings, smiling at the familiar weight. He slid his tail spade back into the leather sheath, and when he pulled it out the metal covering was gone. He looked up at Sparx and said, "Let's go it is almost time for the meeting that I have been sent for."

"How strong do you have to be to fly in that armor?" Sparx asked as they left Dimitri's room. "You have to be strong enough to carry a malnourished, ten year old dragoness to Dante's Freezer and back." Dimitri paused before saying. "I have a feeling that the specificness of that statement is going to bite me in the butt one of these days."

"Most likely. Could we get something to eat? I'm starving!" Sparx asked.

"Then grab some of you beloved butterflies on the way there. I would like to get to the Pool of Visions before it's too late." Dimitri replied. "Besides, you don't even have to be there, you can sleep in and no one will care." Sparx stopped flying.

"You're right!" he exclaimed. "I don't have to listen to anyone. I'm going back to sleep." The dragonfly then wasted no time flitting away to where ever he slept intent on sleeping for a few more hours. Dimitri just sighed at his friend's attitude. Now the only sound to accompany him was the clicking of his bladed gauntlets and the gentle clinking of his armor. As he walked, he let his mind wander. He steps became mechanical, walking to the Pool of Visions as he fantasied what the temple was like before the war. There were many classrooms and dorms, so he assumed that it was an academy before it was raided. He could imagine it, the walls not cracked and the windows not broken, young dragons strolling through the corridors and chatting. There were dragons his age as well, playing games and running after each other. He gave a quick glance to his tattooed shoulder and scarred forearm, which were covered by his armor. He almost wished them to be gone so that he may have a normal life. Almost being the operative word.

Dimitri was so caught up in his musings that he didn't notice something was coming towards him until it was too late. He felt something, or someone, large collide with his side. He let his many years of training shape his reaction. Dimitri rolled away from whatever hit him, getting to his feet in an instant and turning, dropping into a defensive crouch. He got a good look at what had hit him; it was a large yellow dragon. Dimitri dropped his defensive crouch and smiled.

"Volteer!" he called "What are you doing here?" Dimitri asked him. The yellow guardian of electricity smiled and said in his usual cheery and fast way.

"Did you forget, overlook, misremember, bypass, disregard, ignore the fact that today, now, currently, this morn that all guardians meet to discuss our progress in the regions we were assigned to, Dimitri?" Volteer shot out in less than seven seconds, but Dimitri was used to the guardian's fast paced tongue.

"I must've, because this quite a surprise." Dimitri said, almost sating Volteer's curiosity.

"Then why are you dressed in the full regalia, uniform, armor of a knight?" Volteer asked

"Iedus and I were summoned by Ignitus." Dimitri said.

"It must be to greet the other guardians and partake in the meeting that we are all to attend." Volteer speedily replied. "Let us not tarry!" the Electric dragon finished as he began to walk briskly away. _At least now I will have someone to talk to, or in Volteer's case, listen to._ But surprisingly, the Guardian did not say one word. Instead he hummed a cheery little ditty. Dimitri noticed that Volteer seemed to be happier than usual. He decided to question the older dragon about it.

"Volteer," he began. "You seem happier than usual, why is that?"

"Can't a dragon be happy to see his friends-no, no, no, brothers are more like it." Volteer said, referencing the other three guardians.

"That's not what I'm talking about. You seem to be glowing." Dimitri stated. "Is someone special going to be there?" The young ice dragon questioned.

"Yes! Well, I hope that she shows up." Volteer said nervously

"A dragoness? What do I not know about the Guardian of Electricity?" Dimitri said with a sly smile. "Would you mind telling me who you are hoping to be there?" Dimitri asked politely.

The larger dragon chuckled shyly and said nervously "Not at all young dragon. I hope to see- Oh Terrador!" Volteer didn't finish his sentence, using the timely arrival of the earth guardian as an excuse. "How have you been? Is everything going well? Have the wolves agreed to..." Volteer rambled on, with Terrador giving only one worded replies and gruff grunts. Dimitri fell behind, before he picked up the pace when their voices began to fade. He heard only the end of Volteer's sentence.

"-her go, Terrador. It is the only way you will find peace." Volteer finished, in what sounded like a concerned whisper.

"What peace do I need?" Terrador said in a harsh whisper. Dimitri tried not to eavesdrop on the guardians' conversation, but couldn't help but what they were saying.

"Do I need to make peace with _him_!?" he hissed, "I would rather rot in hell then make peace with that honorless scavenger!" Terrador said harshly. Volteer was about to reply when he saw Dimitri walking up to them.

"Good morning, Master Terrador." Dimitri said when he greeted the earth dragon.

"Morning, young sir Dimitri." Terrador grunted.

"Dimitri, have you heard that the dragons in the Shattered Vale have given you a title?" Volteer said. The gravity of whatever he and Terrador were talking about disappeared. "They have started calling you 'the White Knight'" Volteer said. Dimitri was puzzled.

"Why have they given me a tittle? I have not contributed that much to the war." Dimitri asked. Volteer was quick to respond.

"It's because you are the youngest of the knight apprentices', but you have not gone to Warfang to further your training, choosing instead to stay with Iedus and fight. It offers hope to the dragons that live there."

"It makes me uncomfortable, having a tittle and doing so little to earn it." Dimitri stated.

"You sell yourself short, young dragon" Terrador began. Dimitri was surprised. Rarely did Terrador speak when he was not required to answer. "You have almost lost your life three times. Never doubt the value of such sacrifice."

"A sacrifice of that kind on my part has little worth. It is my duty to give all I have to the defense of Warfang and her people." Dimitri stated. Terrador growled when he heard the young dragon's statement.

"You do not understand," Terrador said, stopping Dimitri by stepping in front of him. His face was twisted in anger at the young ice dragon's disregard to a sacrifice of one's life. "To give your life is to give everything you've yet to do, every joy you will never feel, every moment with the ones you love away for a cause that demands such a sacrifice." Terrador's voice was rising in anger with almost every word he said "When you say it does not matter, you say that everything those who died gave away has no value!"

"Terrador! That's enough!" Volteer voice said. Dimitri was shaking in his armor. "He knows not what he says. He is young and foolish, give him some leeway, he does not know of her sacrifice." Terrador's face softened a little.

"Fine," He said. "I will go ahead." Terrador finished. Volteer sighed. Dimitri asked "W-h-why was he so angered?" Dimitri asked, ashamed at the slight stammer in his voice. Volteer only sighed sadly and said,

"That is his story to tell, not mine". Dimitri watched as the Terrador walked away. "Though I will tell you this," Volteer said. "It hardened his heart harder than stone."

"Will it ever be softened?"

"…Only by revenge." Volteer said softly and sadly

**Well, that took long enough to update. Just to let you know, I don't hate Terrador. He is actually my favorite. He is the way he is because something happened in his past. Please read and review, it makes me happy. The coverart was done by Dragonmaster000. It is of his OC, Nexus, but I thought it fit well. Big thanks to him.**


	4. The Tavern Brawl

**A/N: Just to let you know, I am revising the size of the apes. It will follow this format: ape soldiers are five feet tall, ape leaders are six feet tall, and commanders are seven feet tall. Ignitus is an average sized dragon at seven feet at the shoulder. The top of a twelve year old dragon's head is level with an ape soldier's chest, about four-foot-six-inches at the top of the head, and three foot at the shoulder. To those of you who care, Syra wasn't using Phantom Fright in the first chapter. It was her special technique.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter three: A Tavern Brawl

The tavern was loud and raucous. The only way to find peace was to drown your sorrows in tankards of ale and whiskey. The inside was simple; you walk through the door and into the barroom. The bar is across from the door, with a staircase leading upstairs to the sleeping rooms on the right wall. The tavern sat in the swamp along one of the few roads that went through the area. Many travelers paid a fair amount to sleep here, for it was better than sleeping in the mud. The yells in this tavern were either of encouragement or entertainment; this was because of the crude circle of overturned tables in the middle of the barroom floor. In this circle was a wolf, which had dark brown fur that had thin streaks if grey through it, a testament to the many years he had seen, and was wearing worn brown leather pants and a plain shirt; the wolf was six-foot-six-inches tall. In the circle with him was a lion who was wearing only a pair of travelling pants. Both fighters were bruised, bloody, and panting. People cheered as the wolf stood warily, both of his arms raised in preparation for the next attack from the lion. The lion was a bit taller than him and was muscled, with bulging arms and chest. The wolf had a trim body, he was muscled as well, but it wasn't as obvious as the lion. The difference between them was that the lion had the body of a fighting brute, but the wolf had the body of a trained warrior.

The lion roared and charged with an over hand right. The wolf snorted, not liking the attack that was thrown at him, but it would work for now. He stepped forward quickly, his hands shooting forward, the left one grabbing his right shoulder and the right one grabbing below his left arm. The wolf twisted his upper body and released the lion, throwing him to the other side of the ring. The lion lost his footing and slammed his head into the tables. He stood back up and growled. The wolf returned to his fight stance, his weight on his left leg with his right one in front of the left; his arms raised and fingers loose. The lion shuffled towards the wolf, his fists held up close to his face. The wolf stared and waited for the attack. The lion threw a left jab at the wolf's face. The wolf stepped to the left, twisting around and slamming his forearms on the lion's arm. The wolf quickly followed up the strike by swinging his right hand in a backhand at the lion's head. The lion snapped his head back at the strike; the wolf slid his left hand down the lion's arm and gripped his wrist. He brought his right arm around again and palmed the lion's extended elbow, but he didn't stop there.

The wolf, one hand gripping the lion's wrist, the other gripping the lion's overextended elbow, leveraged the lion down by putting pressure on the lion's elbow and forcing him to the ground. The wolf stood up quickly and delivered a heavy stomp to the lion's back. But the crowd wanted more, and the lion still tried to get up. The wolf dropped his knee on the lions elbow, gripping the lions forearm with both hands and pulling it so the arm bent the wrong way. The crowd roared as the lion screamed in pain and refused to yield.

"Yield," the wolf said in a harsh whisper to the lion, pulling on the lion's arm a bit harder. "Yield you stupid cat!" the wolf repeated. The lion only glared at him.

"Go to hell, loner." The lion spit out. At hearing the insult, 'loner', the wolf's eye's dilated in anger. Snarling, the wolf gave a hard tug, throwing his weight into this pull. There was a sickening crack as the lion's arm became parallel with his opponent's leg, the lion's fingers now pointing towards the ceiling. The crowd cheered loudly at seeing the lion's arm broken. The wolf stood up and walked away, stepping over the tables and collecting the money from the bet's against him.

"Hey!" one of the watchers called. "Hey what's your name, wolf?"

The wolf turned and looked at the patron, saying simply: "Connor." Connor walked to the table closest to the entrance, where his stuff lay untouched. He reached down and grabbed the long coat draped across his chair and put in on. The coat was a light brown color; it fit snuggly around his upper body and chest, and extended down to the back of his knees. The coat had a split in front of the legs, so not to impede any running, and a split to the waist on the back half to allow for his tail and riding; it also had a hood. The coat had several buttons on the front, and Connor didn't care to button them.

A harness lay on the table. The harness was designed like this: There was a belt-strap with two straps attached to it that went up an over the shoulders and attached to the back of the belt; there were two straps on the back in an X shape: the last strap was on the front, and it was a buckle on the front in the middle of the chest. There was an array of weapons attached the harness. A medium-sized crossbow and a five-foot hunting spear were attached to the back straps. On the right side of the belt-strap was a small hand axe, useful for fighting or as a tool, and a small quiver of bolts. On the left side of the belt-strap were a short sword and a hand-and-a-half sword. Attached to left shoulder strap was a dagger; it was placed with the handle facing down. There was a pair of gauntlets, a helmet, and a buckler.

He looked at the helmet and pair of gauntlets that lay on the table. His eyes settled on the right gauntlet. On the front of it was a symbol of a wolf's head, tossed back and howling, with two swords crossed behind it. It looked like someone had taken a dagger and gouged many deep scratches across the emblem. His ears pressed against his skull, his tail tucked between his legs, he dropped his head and said with a slight whimper, "Mhallacht náire." This meant 'curse shame' in the wolf language.

If a wolf, for Connor was the only wolf in the tavern, had seen this and heard him, they would have known by his posture and voice that what he was really saying was: "Curse my own shame and dishonor." His demeanor changed as he said in draconic "Hey! Bartender! I need a tankard of your strongest stuff!" Connor then pointed the lion whose arm he had broken. "He's buying!"

≤Ω≥

Syra skipped along the swamp's path, humming a little tune happily, her tail swishing back and forth. She was oblivious to the ape soldier's that were following her. In their foolish minds they thought that they could succeed where the soldiers in Concurrent Skies had failed. They bared their teeth and howled, launching themselves at Syra. She didn't even blink. Her tail straightened out and shadows coved it, making a long blade from the tip. One of the apes impaled himself on her tail. Syra turned her body around and unleashed a torrent of flames, turning the second ape into ashes. She frowned after she unleashed the attack.

"Dang," she said. "That was supposed to be a Heart Stopper." She said, referencing the small concentrated balls of fear. Syra sighed and continued on her way. But she stopped dead when she heard a piercing shriek. Syra turned on her heels and stared in disbelief as the ape that had impaled himself on her tail was still alive, a large stab wound through his chest, but alive. She realized as she silenced him that she had missed the ape's chest, instead getting him in the gut and severing his spine. It was a fatal blow, but not an instant one. The ape still had enough time to alert the rest of the party that was with him. Syra looked up as she heard similar howls and shrieks coming through the brush.

_I am not going back! Never! _Syra thought to herself as she turned tail and ran. She completely forgot about being stealthy. She knew the only way to get out of this free was to run. The only reason that Syra was not sitting in a cell right now was that she had timed her escape perfectly, planning it so that the new, inexperienced guards were on patrol. Those apes underestimated her, and that coupled with the advantage of surprise it was too easy to dispatch of them. These apes, though, would have been briefed of all of her skills, and the warning call from the dead ape assured that she wouldn't be able to dispatch them by surprise. She knows that her two greatest assets are stealth, and her opponents underestimating her. Neither was available now.

Syra crashed through the brush. She could hear the apes, hooting and hollering, getting closer and closer to her. She stumbled and trip onto a path and, strangely, hears laughter. It was no the laughter of the apes, but one of drunkenness. She looked up and saw her salvation.

≤Ω≥

Connor placed the tankard of strong liquor to his lips and took and drank a swig. This was his second drink, and he was already feeling the alcohol removing his reason and logic. Did he care? No, it would relieve him of his memories of his dishonor, if only for a little while. He was about to take another drink when he heard something. His senses were more tuned then most of the patrons, so could just make out a shrill scream over the clamor. He heard it again, but this time words accompanied the scream.

"Help!" comes the voice of a young one. Connor looked up as the door to the tavern bursts open, revealing a disheveled looking hatchling. She had dull black and gold scales with small streaks of red and orange dotting her body. Her whole body shook in fear as her eyes, a crisp and bright purple color, darted back and forth. She looked as if she never had enough to eat, and he could almost see her ribs. "Help me!" she cries out again, leaping to the nearest patron. Who just happened to be Connor. She rears up and places her forepaws on his chest. "Please, Please, Please! You have to hide me! The apes are coming and they killed my parents and my brother and their going to kill me! Hide me! Please don't let them get me!" The hatchling began to cry as she placed her head against Connor's chest. "Please, save me." She whimpered. Something about this hatchling stirred Connor's memories, and they came to him in flashes.

_A young, black she-wolf smiles and laughs as she trots in front of Connor. She had on a coat, helmet and gauntlets just like the ones Connor wears. It was buttoned up with a harness and weapons identical to the ones Connor has put on over the coat. She yells "race ya'" to Connor. He just laughs as the young she-wolf runs off and disappears behind a tree, but his blood freezes as he hears her scream._

Connor grits his teeth as the memory comes to him. He moves the young dragoness off of him and crouches in front of her. "What is your name, young one?" he asks.

The hatchling says through snuffles "Syra, my name is Syra."

"Well Syra," Connor says "I swear by my warrior ancestors, by the blood that flows through my veins, by the fire in my heart, that as, long as the moon will rise and fall, no harm shall come to you when you are in my care."

Syra's eyes widen "Y-you will protect me?" the young one stammered out. Connor nods simply. Syra's face breaks out in a smile and she tackles him. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She says, hugging the wolf tightly. Connor just pushed her off and stood up. He then picked her and tossed over to the bartender.

"Keep her quiet and out of sight." Connor says to the bartender, a stout looking mole. The bartender catches Syra and sets her behind the bar. Connor then buttons up his coat, pulling on his harness and weapons. The next thing he put on was his gauntlets, slinging his buckler over his back, and then he pulls on his helmet and steps outside the tavern. He heard loud hooting and hollering as the apes that were chasing Syra crashed through the brush and onto the road. There were fifth-teen apes in all, one commander, four leaders, and ten soldiers. They all got stuck in the mud banks that formed on the sides of the road. One of the leaders worked his way out and walked up to Connor. Connor, who had taken out his dagger with his right hand and was twirling around to all of the different positions he could hold it, noticed that all the apes were wearing similar armor; leather armor dyed a black with a red colored trim. The color was hard to make out because it was so faded and caked with mud.

"You, wolf." said the ape leader that had gotten out of the mud. "We are looking for a black dragoness, around ten years old." the ape said, handing Connor a hand drawn picture of Syra. It said on the bottom _Wanted for the murder of General Spyro Corvo, King Gaul, and Lady Cynder Jessamine's personal assassin, as well as the murder of many of the guards in Concurrent Skies. _As soon as Connor had finished reading it, he tossed his head back and laughed

"You expect me to believe that a _hatchling_ did this? Killed their personal Assassin? Either you're more pathetic than I thought, or you all sleep at your posts." Connor said after he was done laughing. The ape growled and took a step closer to Connor, puffing out his chest. The ape never got a chance to say anything. Connor twisted his body and punched the ape in the gut, causing the ape to double over. Not even blinking, Connor flipped the dagger to the reverse position and stabbed the blade into the base of the ape's skull. The ape's body jerked once and fell down at Connor's feet. The apes stuck in the mud stared in disbelief for a while, before yelling loudly and struggling to get out of the mud that held them entrapped.

The struggling only made it harder to escape the mud, but the apes didn't care, only wanting to taste the blood of the one who had killed their comrade. They stopped for a second when they all heard a _kachung-thunk! _And one of the leaders dropped dead, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his eye. Connor had shrugged off his buckler and used his crossbow to kill one of the apes. Before he could reload the remaining two leaders escaped the mud and charged him. Connors only had enough time to drop his crossbow, put on his shield and draw his hand-and-a-half sword before the apes were upon him.

Connor raised his shield and tilted it to the left, deflecting the sword blow from one of the apes. The other had an axe and slammed the blade against Connor's side. The wolf grunted as he felt at least one of his ribs crack, retaliating with a slash to the axe wielding apes side. The axe wielding ape didn't expect the wolf to survive that hack; the axe should have gone right through the coat! So surprised was he, that he didn't noticed Connor's attack until too late. The ape stumbled back from the slash, giving the second ape room enough to attack Connor again with a downwards slash. Connor parried the blow to the right and slammed the edge of his shield against the ape's neck. The ape yelped in pain as Connor brought his sword arm around again and slashed out the ape's knee. He fell over, and Connor took advantage of the situation and stabbed the ape in the chest. Before he could pull his sword out, the remaining ape jumped at him and swung his axe down. Connor jumped back and pulled out his short sword. The ape swung his axe to hit Connor in the shoulder. Connor took the full brunt of the blow on his shield, grunting as the heavy hit sent shockwaves through his limb. He easily pivoted his body and drove the tip of the blade deep into the ape's neck. Connor pulled the blade out of the corpse. He looked up and saw the other apes getting out of the mud.

All Syra could hear was the clash of metal and gurgles of blood. She was concocting a plan on how to elude the apes when all sound of fighting stopped. She heard the wolf say "It's alright, you can come out now." Syra peeked her head up and gasped. The wolf was covered in blood, as well as all his weapons. He took off his helmet and dropped on his table, taking a drink from the tankard that was still on his table.

"B-b-but how did you fight off all of those apes?!" Syra asked

"Simple," the wolf said. "I fought without honor, and I hate myself for it."

**A/N: I finally got that chapter done. Sorry it took so long, but I am sure that with time my updates will smooth out. A rough, emphasis on rough, guess of when I will update seems to be every nine days. Sorry for that. If you care, I gave Spyro and Cynder last names, those last names are based off of another video game's characters. Guess who they are and you will get a cake.**

**Syra: The cake is a lie**

**Shut it Syra! Also a quick reply to a guest review**

**Guest: That was the whole point of not revealing who Syra was until the end, so one thought Cynder was running and Malefor was the one who confronted her. I thought that it would be a nice hook for the story.**

**I noticed after I finished this chapter, that I forgot to say that Connor's coat has a hood. It has been corrected in the story.**


	5. The Temple's Fall

** A/N: I am sorry for the long description of Connor's coat last chapter, but I wanted to make sure we all had the same mental picture. To those of you who need a visual aid, Google 'Assassins Creed robe' and you should be good. Now here's the deal about Reviews, if I don't get any per chapter, I will be mauled with spoons and useless sporks by llamas. I don't want to be mauled. PLEASE DON'T LET ME BE MAULED BY LLAMAS!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter four: The Temple's Fall

Dimitri sat in the Pool of Visions room, back against a wall and next to another ice dragon; he was about the size of Ignitus. This dragon was Iedus, Warfang's Knight of Ice and Dimitri's mentor. He has light blue scales, a white under belly and horns, as well as black wing membranes. His two black horns stared at his temples and jutted back at a low angle. He wore armor that was the same design as Dimitri's, but the armor was colored to match Iedus' scale color. There was a sheath attached to his right hindquarter, much like Dimitri's, except it was made to fit Iedus' tail spade, which was shaped like an icicle. If you were to remove Iedus' armor, you would see that he has a tattoo identical to the one that Dimitri has, as well as the same scars on the inside of the right forearm, but instead of three there were ten scars.

There were six cushions, each large enough to easily fit a full grown dragon and they were all a different colors and represented different elements: red for fire, yellow for electricity, light blue for ice, green for earth, silver for wind, and black for shadow. Three of the Guardians were already in the Pool of Visions room, Ignitus, Terrador, and Volteer. Ignitus stood by the Pool, staring into it as if he would see some sort of answer. Terrador sat on top of the green cushion and was staring blankly at the black cushion. This is what Terrador always did when he came to the temple for the annual meeting, stared at the black cushion and only spoke when spoken to. Volteer was talking, but no one was listening. Dimitri just stifled a yawn and started daydreaming again. He decided to talk to his mentor.

"Iedus, can I ask you a question?" Dimitri said, speaking quiet enough so that the guardians couldn't hear them. Iedus just let out a small smile before speaking.

"You may ask me another question, since you already asked me one." Iedus stated smartly.

"Earlier, Terrador called someone an 'honorless scavenger', what does that mean?"

Iedus smiled and said: "He's been spending too much time with those wolves. To be called an honorless scavenger in wolfish culture is the worst insult a wolf could call another."

"Why aren't the other Knights here?" was Dimitri's next question.

"The other guardians see fit to leave them at where ever they are to take lead while the guardians are here and meeting. We are here because Sarah has chosen to help out in Warfang and we have been assigned to the temple." Iedus answered. Sarah was the other Knight of Ice. "To be honest, I would have preferred to have Lyn accompany me in the temple, no offense to you, but she has known me for most of our lives" Iedus stated. Lyn was the Knight of Electricity.

"None taken," Dimitri said, "Although, we both know that Knights aren't supposed to take mates." Dimitri said. Iedus seemed to stiffen up. "Just joking, Iedus." Dimitri said. Iedus loosened a bit. Any reply that he could've made was cut off as Cyril entered. Dimitri immediately noticed something wrong with the ice guardian. His usual arrogant smile was gone. His tail dragged on the ground instead of being held up proudly, and his head held a similar position. Volteer was the first to notice the entrance of Cyril.

"Cyril! It is well about time you got here. All these folks are boring! All they do is stand and stare and sit and stare and talk and stare! Not once have they responded to any of my questions or conversation starters." Volteer speedily spat out, "Is Cicle outside? I know she isn't allowed in here yet but it has been months since I last saw her! Ignitus! May I go accompany Cicle before the meeting starts? Please, please, please?!"

"Call the meeting." Cyril said sadly. At the end of every other month, the remaining five guardians would meet and discuss how wherever they were assigned to was fairing. Volteer was assigned to the Shattered Vale, Terrador to Dante's Freezer. Angel, who was the guardian of wind, was assigned to Tall Planes, and Cyril was assigned to Warfang. The remaining knights, such as Iedus, Dimitri, Lyn, and Myrskyt, who was the other Knight of Electricity, were assigned to help the guardians.

"I cannot do that until Angel is in here with us." Ignitus stated. "You can wait another minute." Cyril looked at Ignitus, shame written plainly across his face. Cyril was just barely able to choke out: "Angel won't be joining us." Dimitri's eyes widened as the once proud Ice shamefully slumped into the light blue cushion. He had never seen the ice dragon so sad. Usually he was arrogant and held himself as well as others with great respect. However the dragon before him was depressed and full of self-pity. Cyril's comment seemed to somber everyone in the room, even Volteer. "I call the meeting of the Guardians to order, please take your seats so we can begin." Ignitus said officially. Volteer and Ignitus went and sat on the yellow and red cushions respectively.

"I assume you have some important news for us, Cyril?" Ignitus asked. The Ice guardian stood up and said quickly, as if he might soon lose the ability to speak. "Warfang and Tall Planes have fallen," Cyril stated quickly. Terrador tore his gaze away from the black cushion. Volteer's mouth opened and closed as if to say something, but couldn't quite find the words. Ignitus just dropped his head. "Spyro's personal general, an earth dragon by the name of Aiden, led the siege and broke through the walls. The rest of the remaining knights and some forces of ours elected to stay while I and the rest of our army tried to get as many refugees out as possible. We met up with Angel on the way to the Shattered Vale. She had encountered the same situation, so merged our progressions. She had with her Myrskyt and Lyn." At those two names, Iedus seemed to tense up. Dimitri barely noticed. Warfang, fallen! And he wasn't even there to help defend it. He had failed his duty before he even began it. But Cyril's bad news was only half done.

"Midway there, we were attacked by the combined forces of Cynder and Spyro," Cyril continued. "Myrskyt and Lyn went off to fight Spyro and Cynder. Angel, Cicle, and I were defending the young, old, and the sick. They told me they could handle it, so I went to help Myrskyt and Lyn. When I got to where I last saw them," Cyril took a break from speaking, as to gather his wits. "They were dead." At this statement, Dimitri felt Iedus' jaw set, all of the breath leave his body, and his heart break. Dimitri knew that Iedus and Lyn were close. This must have been hard to take for the older ice dragon.

"But how is that possible! There were none greater than those two working together! Why, they could almost beat Terrador and Varja!" Too late did Volteer realize he had said a forbidden name. He was about to stammer out his apologies to Terrador when the large earth dragon stooped him. "Volteer is right." Terrador said, earning a surprised glance from the other guardians "How could they have been bested? Even with the skill Spyro and Cynder had shown Myrskyt and Lyn together should have able to best one of them."

"That's the thing," Cyril said, "Spyro and Cynder weren't fighting alone, they were fighting _with_ each other." It was Ignitus who asked the next question.

"But those two utterly despise each other. Practically every time they get close to each other, they end up coming to blows. How can they work together, and beat the best fighting pair in all of the Dragon Realms?" Ignitus asked.

"I don't know, but they did." Cyril's sadness seemed to hit him full force now. "And that's not all." He continued. "When I returned to Angel and Cicle, Angel was being carried off by Spyro and Cicle..." Cyril seemed as if he could barely finish his sentence. "Cicle, is she...?" Volteer asked tentatively. Cyril only looked at him and nodded. "No..." was all Volteer could say as the full brunt of the news hit his heart. The electric guardian sat straight down, just staring off into space, and mouthing 'no' over and over again. Ignitus said simply "Were there any survivors?" Cyril answered, saying: "All of the soldiers were killed, and he civilians taken back to Warfang. I just barely escaped."

"This is sad news indeed." Ignitus rumbled. "But the real question is; how will we pull through?" The fire dragon finished.

"'How will _they_ pull through', you mean." Terrador said with a strange emotion lacing his voice. It was compassion. Dimitri never heard such an emotion in the earth dragon's voice. Terrador motioned towards Volteer, who was just sitting on his haunches, staring out in space and his jaw moving but no sound being made, and Cyril, who was just slumped on his cushion and whimpering, the once proud dragon being an emotional wreck. "We haven't been as effected as they have. They either need time to face life, or something to beat on." Terrador stated frankly. Before Ignitus could continue speaking, there was a high-pitched scream that cut through the meeting. Dimitri's eyes widened.

"That was Sparx!" he exclaimed, running from the Pool room and out to the training room. He saw the dragonfly in a lantern that was being held by an ape soldier. He had an odd sense of Déjà vu, this same thing happened three years ago, and that's how he met Sparx, rescuing him from apes. But he didn't have time to reminisce. He had to act.

Dimitri shot an icicle that impaled the ape through the neck. He leapt to the dead body and broke the lantern, freeing Sparx. Before he could question the dragonfly, a loud roar was heard, followed quickly by another, more feminine, one. Dimitri looked at the dead ape's body; it was wearing dark purple armor with a gold trim. _Spyro's forces._ Dimitri thought. He then heard a loud screech. He looked up and saw dreadwings flying above the hole in the training room roof. _What in the world, those are Cynder's forces!_ _Those two never work together! _Dimitri thought to himself. He heard the door to the Pool of Visions room open and the guardians come out.

"Masters!" Dimitri said quickly. "Spyro and Cynder are here!"

"What?!" Ignitus said. "What do they want?!"

"Simple," Iedus stated. "The temple is under attack."

**A/N: Ha! A cliffhanger! Not really though. Well, there's my next chapter. Not much, I know, but I had less time to work on it than usual. Please review. I forgot to mention, Connor speaks with an Irish accent, and Dimitri speaks with a Russian one. I'd like to take this time to thank some people. Thank you Memmola, .Chaos97, and DragonMaster000 for reviewing my story. Extra thanks to .Chaos97, for agreeimg to be my beta reader.**


	6. The Capture

**A/N: In this story, the term 'Dragon Realms' refer to the land mass where TLOS takes place. Not the universe. Also about my height revision; completely forget about the sizes of all of the character in the whole series. This is an AU so I can do what I want. I will stick to the cannon, but heights will be changed, to make things slightly more realistic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Five: The Capture

Syra curled herself into a tight ball and let out a slight whimper. The camp fire that Connor had started had died by now. She wasn't really cold; she was just trying to play the part of the defenseless, pathetic, little hatchling. She was succeeding, too. Connor hadn't even begun to question her past. After his beating, no, _slaughter _of the apes that were pursuing Syra was over, Connor told her he was taking her to the dragon temple that was supposedly a few days journey on foot from the tavern. That was two days ago.

Syra's face twisted in discontentment for a split second, feeling guilty for tricking the kind, old wolf. She didn't really expect him to swear to protect her. Her plan was to rile up the bar goers into bugging the apes and allowing her to escape. But no, now she was heading to the Temple instead of making her way to Warfang, which was her original plan. Syra heard Connor stir, and a few seconds later something heavy and warm was draped across her. She opened her eyes and saw Connor walking away, but he wasn't wearing the coat he was always wearing. Twisting her head, she saw that he had draped it over her like a blanket. She let a soft groan.

"Why is this thing so heavy?" Syra asked. Connor's ears pricked up at the sound of the hatchling's voice.

"It is leather from the_ leor torsca, _a large and viscous animal that lives in my homeland. The leather is as strong as steel, and slightly less heavy. It works well for armor, and keeps us wolves warm. But those things are hard as stone to kill. And tradition dictates we kill them with tooth and claw." Connor answered. His grey-streaked face smiled slightly as he sat down by his weapon covered harness on the wet ground. "There is no greater thrill or honor than being on your first hunt, assisting in felling those mighty beasts." Syra had picked up her head and stared Connor as he reminisced. She thought it was a good time to get to know her traveling companion a bit more.

"Why did you save me?" She asked. Connor only looked into her purple eyes and said "You remind me of my daughter." Connor's smile disappeared and he said "Go to bed pup, the time for talk has past." He turned over and closed his eyes, so to go to sleep. Syra was now curious about Connor's past. He mentioned very little of it, in fact this was the most she ever heard him talk about his home and life before he came to the Dragon Realms. Most of the time he was closed lipped. But then again, she didn't speak much either, just leaning against his side and letting out a whimper every now and then. She really hated deceiving Connor for two reasons: she didn't like tricking such a kind soul, and, more importantly, she hated acting so pathetic. _Oh well,_ she thought _it could be worse. I mean, we could be ambushed by apes this very moment_.

There was a slight rustle in a bush a few feet away. Without any warning, Connor grabbed his crossbow, aimed at the bush, and fired a bolt. Syra jumped at the unexpected noise, and her eyes widened when the dead body of an ape fell out of the bushes.

"These _mallacht_ things are annoying." Connor said as he stepped to the dead body and pulled the bolt out of the dead ape. He grabbed to lever on the side of the crossbow and pulled it back the catch of crossbow. This pulled the string back and enabled for quicker reloads. "Why are they hunting you?" He asked as he reloaded his crossbow.

"I don't know." Syra answered, her face being hidden from the sight of the dead ape by being buried in Connor's coat. That of course was another lie. She knew _exactly_ why she specifically was being hunted. But she still misdirected Connor. "There is supposed to be some kind of war against the dragons and the apes. I was trying to get to Warfang, where I would be safe."

"The so called 'Guardians' at that dragon temple we heard of can help you." Connor stated. "They might even take us to Warfang."

"Us?" Syra questioned, raising her head to look at the old wolf. "You think that I am just going to swear to protect you, and then leave you in someone else's care?" Connor questioned. "No, that won't be happening." He answered for her.

"But you have a daughter; shouldn't you be with her?" Syra asked, in hopes of both discouraging him from following her and learning more about the wolf's past.

"If I had a family, I wouldn't be in your _mallacht_ land." Connor said through bared teeth. "Go to sleep, pup." Connor said firmly, fastening his crossbow to his harness and laying down.

"But-"

"_Sleep,_ pup, sleep." Connor said, stuffing his muzzle into the crook of his arm. Syra sighed, her curiosity far from sated. She pulled Connor's coat over her head and closed her eyes. She soon entered into the world of dreams, but unfortunately for her, they were memories, not dreams. She couldn't see anything; only hear the voices of her lifelong tormentors.

_"Fight back! Don't just lay there!" Yelled a voice that seemed to be filled with malice._

_"Don't fight them head on! Use your elements!" Another, more sophisticated voice came. "Ugh, call off the apes; she is too beaten to fight. Hunter, take her to the infirmary." The first voice spoke._

_"Terra, tend to her wounds." The sophisticated voice said._

_"Mistress," a new voice came, this one soft and quiet. "She has been through so much, please; just let her rest for the rest of the week." This new voice seemed to plead._

_"It is not up to me." The sophisticated voice said. "She is in his care this month; I have no say in her training regime." There was the sound of paws stepping, walking across stone. The soft voice spoke again._

_"Hunter, please try to convince him to let her have the week to rest." The soft voice pleads again. "Don't worry," A fourth voice spoke, this one deep and kind. "I already convinced him."_

_"Really!? Thank you so much Hunter!"_

_"Believe it or not, but he suggested her time off. As spiteful as he is, he seems to have some emotion besides hate in his putrid heart. He suggested that she have the week off, something about 'not being able to fight in a state like this.'"_

_The happiness seemed evident in the soft voice. "See, I told there is good in their hearts." The deep voice only grunted before saying: "I wish you were right, Terra, oh how I wish you were right."_

"Pup, get up." A harsh whisper came, rousing her from her sleep. She whimpered and begged quietly "I thought I had the week off, Master. Please, give me a second to get up, and then I will be ready to train."

"What the _ifreann_ are you talking about? Apes are—"

There was a dull_ thump_. Connor never finished his sentence. Here was a loud screech and Syra felt herself being picked up by the scruff. She woke up instantly, reacting on a lifetime of training. Opening her eyes, she saw two ape soldiers crowded around her. An ape leader stood by Connor, his foot on the wolf's chest as Connor struggled to shift the large ape's foot off of his chest.

Syra twisted her body right, spinning out of the ape's grasp and slashing his throat out with her tail blade. She opened her mouth and let out a shrill scream with visible, red sound waves. Her tail flicked around behind her, sending tongues of flame at the ape steeping on Connor. The ape stumbled off of Connor. The wolf leapt up, easily getting behind the leader. Connor wrapped his arm around the ape's throat, getting the ape in a perfect sleeper hold.

Connor kicked the back of the ape's legs out from underneath him. Connor took several steps back; the ape's legs splayed out underneath him as he was hung in Connor's sleeper hold. In several seconds, the ape stopped thrashing and slipped into unconsciousness. Connor dropped the body and looked at Syra, who was finishing off the ape that she had stunned with fear.

"You killed them." Connor said, shock radiating through his voice. "Well, yeah, what did you expect? They were attacking me." Syra said, not caring at all as she walked to the unconscious ape leader. She never got the chance to kill that leader. All she heard was a dull _thump_. Before she could question the sound, everything went black.

**A/N: Well, this chapter came up early. Also came with a peek into Syra's past. And no, your eyes didn't decieve you. That was Terra the panther, from Riverstyx's 'Residual Darkness' in this story. If you are reading this, Riverstyx, thank you once again for allowing me to use her. To those of you who care, Connor is speaks Irish. _Mallacht _means 'cursed' in Irish; _ifreann _means 'hell'. Also, I forgot to mention that in my story, Dragonic is the basic trade language, which means most people know it. To those who forgot, Connor's coat has a hood. Last thing to say, Thank you .Chaos97 for Beta reading. You really took a load off of my mind. Thank you so much.**


	7. The Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

**Khopesh: an Egyptian sickle like sword.**

Chapter 6: The Escape

_"F-f-f-find the alb-b-b-bino dragon-" the next words were interrupted by a harsh cough and a larg__e spray of blood from Iedus' mouth. "B-y-y-y the name of Plymouth-th-th-th." Another cough and another spray of blood. "He'll f-f-further y-y-your training."_

_"But what about you? Y-you will be able to continue my training, all you need are a few red gems!" Dimitri said, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence._

_"Y-y-your forming attachments." Iedus stated. "S-s-s-saying that is a b-a-a-ad idea, would be sp-sp-speaking from experience; they got me three of my _mortis_ scars. And I see that at-t-t-attachments have earned you at least one." The dying knight stated. Dimitri would be a fool not to see the wisdom in his old master's voice. Instead of begging his master to live, he asked the sensible question._

_"How will an albino train me my elements? They don't have magic." The young dragon asked._

_"He may not have an element, but he is the best melee fighter I have ever m-m-met. Plymouth could beat Terrador if the Terrador didn't have the we-we-weight advantage." Iedus stated, smiling at the old memory. "Oh, Lyn, you're here to pick me up?" Iedus seemed to ask. No one was there except Dimitri. "Before I go," Iedus said, "There is one last thing to tell you. I probably shouldn't, but who cares, I am dying. Your father, he is-"_

Dimitri finally woke from that cursed memory. He was panting faintly and sweating; the light snoring from Sparx was the only sound in the cave besides his breathing. Dimitri looked to his right and saw Ignitus sleeping in the corner. He couldn't see Sparx, only hear his snoring. Dimitri stood up and shook himself. He heard a dull thump and a low groan as he shook himself. Dimitri looked to the ground and saw Sparx, on his back and rubbing his head, giving Dimitri a death glare.

"Good morning, you glorified newt. How was your sleep?" Sparx asked sarcastically.

"I didn't know you were there Sparx, I am sorry." Dimitri stated.

"It is no fun to banter with you." Sparx whined. "You always apologize for insulting me!"

"I was raised as a knight should be, upon the principle of being a gentleman." Dimitri said.

"One of these days, you're gonna get a girl, and then she is going to leave because she will think that you are hiding something or your too good to be true." Sparx joked.

"I can't take a lover or a mate" Dimitri stated simply.

"Why, it's not like there's a law against it or something." Sparx said.

"There is, actually." Sparx just stared at his friend.

"You're a fanatic. Those holes in your wings, scars on your arm, and tattoo on your arm prove it." Dimitri snorted at his friend. All the time of he has known the dragonfly Sparx had insisted that Dimitri was fanatical about his position of knight-to-be.

_No longer Knight-to-be, _Dimitri thought bitterly; _now I am Knight of Ice. _Sparx saw the disdain on his friends face. "Hey," he said "Why don't we go on a flight around the area. Just like old times." Sparx asked, a friendly smile spreading across his face. Dimitri looked at his friend. He agreed and wrote a message to Ignitus, telling him where the two of them were at. In a minute they had set out. But the memories kept returning.

_"Cover!" Terrador yelled as he spied a glowing green light head straight for massive statue in the center of the training room floor. Dimitri covered himself with a large and thick ice shield. Dimitri didn't feel any drain from his elemental stores. He had been born with a large amount of elemental power, enough to easily surpass both the ice guardian and knight; if trained, that is. He heard a loud crack and a ton of shrapnel pelting his ice shield. He soon dropped the shield. What he saw was Terrador dropping an earth shield with Volteer also taking cover behind it. It was the same with Iedus and Ignitus._

_In the center of the room was no longer the giant statue, but instead a large, dark purple dragon with dark gold wings and underbelly. What was most interesting about him was his tail spade, because he was missing it. There was a piece of metal covering the last ten inches of his tail and covering the tip; attached to the end of the piece was a blade shape like his original tail spade. There were a few differences: the blade was about a foot longer making it two feet long: it was not so wide from edge to edge: the first six inches were serrated. He shot forth an arrogant smile and laughed. A slightly smaller, black and red dragoness lighted beside him._

_"Did you have to make such a flashy entrance? What happened to stealth?" The black dragoness asked, clearly annoyed._

_"Stealth is your weapon and a cowardly one at that." The purple dragon stated with his smug smile still on his face. The dragoness' face contorted in distaste. Terrador growled._

_"I believe you owe us something, Fallen Savior." Terrador said through bared teeth. "You owe most of us your head."_

"What is that Spyro guy's problem anyway?" Dimitri was woken from his reverie by Sparx's question. He didn't hesitate to answer.

"When he was young, he was a fire dragon. He was mocked and beaten for his little to no elemental strength. He was around fifty-five when he met the Dark Master's spirit. He promised to make Spyro one of his greatest generals. Having no real home, he joined and was empowered by the Dark Master. His scales changed to purple and he gained the use of all of the elements, plus two unnatural abilities." Dimitri explained. The minimal life expectancy of a dragon was two hundred years, so being around fifty years old was the equivalent of a twenty year old cheetah.

"Wow" Sparx said. "Stinks to be him." Dimitri fell back to his memories.

_"No! I will not abandon my friends!" Ignitus yelled as he was dragged from the training room by Iedus and Dimitri. Ignitus had an extremely large cut along his right forearm, stretching from the shoulder to the paw and even going deep enough to cut into his bone._

_"There was no way to fight with a wound like that!" Terrador yelled as he tried to push Spyro away. He did, but the purple dragon only twisted around a bashed Cyril in the head with the flat of his tail blade. The remaining three guardians were losing to Cynder and Spyro. With Iedus and Ignitus fighting, they were all even. But now Spyro was fighting off the three remaining guardians while Cynder set about directing their combined forces. She noticed that Dimitri, Ignitus, and Iedus were escaping. She yelled at her forces and charged the trio. Dimitri acted quickly and made a large wall of ice that covered the doorway._

_"NO!" Ignitus bellowed and struggled against Iedus as the Knight of Ice dragged him away. A loud roar tore through the night, signaling the defeat of another guardian. Iedus just tugged harder on Ignitus while Dimitri froze a cast on Ignitus' wound. The fire dragon just stared at the wall of ice that separated him from his friends._

"Uhhh… Dimitri? What are those fires for?" Dimitri was woken from his stupor once more. The sun was just beginning to rise. Dimitri looked to where Sparx was pointing and saw smoke. "I don't know, let's get closer and find out." Dimitri replied, turning midflight so he was head for the pillars of smoke.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri hunkered down in the dense thicket of vines and weeds. He and Sparx had reached the fires and found a caravan of apes in a small clearing. There was a wagon with a cage on it near the center; this cage also had a wolf tied to it. The wolf's weapons and coat were on the wagon as well. In total, there were thirty apes. A few apes leaning on the hilts of their weapons and dozing, while the others were sleeping on their sides with their armor and weapons discarded. The young ice dragon frowned at their foolishness. The apes may have conquered most of the dragon realms, but they don't have the excuse to become so lazy. He sighed and turned around to sneak away, but he heard something that stopped him in his steps. He heard a slight whimper. He turned around and looked more closely at the cage, and saw the outline of a dragoness hatchling. He didn't know how he missed the small streaks of red and orange, but he saw them now. An ape walked over and slammed his axe against the bars and the hatchling jumped to the other side of the cage. She began to speak, but Dimitri couldn't hear her from here, but whatever she said upset the ape. The ape growled and slammed his axe into the cage again, causing the hatchling to yelp out of shock.

The hatchling whimpered again. The ape moved to smack the cage again, but something stopped him. A dog-like creature had grabbed the ape's wrist and had stopped him. The creature was of smaller stature then the wolf and about six inches taller than the ape soldier. It wore faded red tunic with sandy colored leggings and a khopesh hanging from his belt. Dimitri realized that the creature was a jackal. The jackal exchanged a few words with the ape and the ape leaves. He then looked at the hatchling and said a few things before walking away. Dimitri felt the blood in his veins stir. His teeth bared and his eyes narrowed, an idea forming in his head.

"Uhhh, Dimitri? What's that look in your eyes?" Dimitri knew he couldn't take on all of those apes at once; one of the guardians could possibly, but not him. "Dimitri? You're starting to freak me out!" Dimitri's tail had begun to flick around.

"I have an idea." Was all Dimitri said to reply to Sparx.

≤Ω≥

Gahiji, the jackal that Dimitri had seen, walked into his tent and sat down at a desk off to the side of the tent. He sat down and began writing a letter to Generals Spyro and Cynder. He was sent as an ambassador from the jackals, with the point of finalizing the contract between the dark armies and the jackals. But he was also a skilled warrior. That is why Spyro and Cynder asked him to find the hatchling, Syra. They never said why they wanted such a young dragon, nor did he care. He was about to finish the letter when all hell broke loose. A large something rammed into the side of his tent. He started and dived out of the tent. Outside of the tent was chaos. All around were giant, spider-like creatures attacking the camp. Bulb spiders, if he recalled. Gahiji barked commands at the apes and drew his khopesh. A bulb spider charged him. Gahiji jumped out of the way and hooked his sword on the spider's leg. It fell over and hissed, but it was quickly silenced when Gahiji leapt upon its gut and slashed its throat out.

"Gather you fools!" Gahiji yelled. "Gather and slay these putrid beasts!" And that he leapt off of the spider onto another one, driving the blade into its head and rolling off to slash at another. Almost a whole hive of the bulb spiders had attacked the caravan, but under the guidance of Gahiji the apes slowly began to kill and push back the arachnids. But when they were all dead and Gahiji checked on the hatchling and wolf, they were gone.


	8. The Explanations

**A/N: I have had a request from my Beta to increase chapter size, and I will do my best in that respect. **

**I am the biggest idiot ever. I forgot, up until last night, that Syra is supposed to have small streaks of crimson red and fiery orange dotting her hide. I missed that. I am ashamed and sorry to all of those who have read up to this point. I have fixed this in the other chapters. Once more, sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Seven: The Explanations

Syra panted happily as she ran through the foliage. _I've been doing that a lot recently._ She thought as the white dragon pushed her along. Connor stumbled along beside them, struggling to fasten his harness on. He had left his gauntlets and helmet and had thrown the coat's hood on his head. They finally reached a mushroom with a low-hanging cap that provided decent cover.

"Thank you!" She cried as she threw her forelegs around the white dragon's neck. When she was hugging the dragon, she took the time to analyze him. The first thing she noticed was that he was taller than her. The set of horns that traveled along the top of his head would protect him from almost any attack to the top of his head, and the other, fang shaped pair would be useful for goring his opponents, much better than her own. He had a well-toned and slightly muscular body, showing that he had some form of martial training. If she had to guess his age, she would say that he was around fifteen. His tail spade seemed to be polished and sharpened regularly. The scars on his forearm and holes in his wings seemed to be self-inflicted, and the tattoo on his arm seemed to be a symbol of rank, and not just cosmetics. He began to gently push her away.

"Miss, please let go of me." The white dragon said as he gently pushed Syra off of him. _Polite, formal, to the point, looks like I am dealing with military man. _She thought to herself as she let go of the dragon.

"Sorry, it's just, you saved me and Connor! I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along!" Syra gushed, hoping to keep the 'pathetic little hatchling' façade up. Connor didn't seem to be complaining much, so she assumed that the blow to the back of his head had erased the memory. "My name is Syra, and the wolf is Connor." she said with a polite smile.

"Hello, Syra, Connor." the white dragon said "I am D-, _Sir_ Dimitri, the Warfang Knight of Ice." He continued, despite the stumbling in his voice. Syra interest was piqued when he mentioned Warfang.

"Warfang? Could you take us there?" She asked, her hope rising.

Dimitri just shook his head. "No one should go there now. Warfang has fallen to the General Spyro's apes." Syra eyes widened as the little hope she had of making her way to Warfang was shattered.

"Well that STINKS!" Syra yelled, a bit of shadow flickering off of her scales. "All those failed escape attempts!" She raged as she began to stalk back and forth, the flickering of shadows only increasing. "All that fighting! All that planning! All that acting pathetic for nothing AT ALL!" She yelled, the shadows around them beginning to flicker like fire would. Dimitri took a few steps back, raising his foreleg as if the ward off the shadows that were beginning to surround her. "TEN YEARS I have been alive, the only hope of happiness laid in Warfang, AND YOU TELL ME IT HAS BEEN CONQUERED YOU STUPID ICICLE HEAD!" She yelled at Dimitri as she became completely engulfed in shadow.

"Dimitri! Do something." Sparx yelled as shadow fire began to expand from her. Dimitri then did something very stupid. He jumped straight through the shadow fire. Dimitri landed right in front of Syra and placed one paw on her shoulder while the other moved to her chin so she was looking into his red and blue eyes.

"Calm, down." Dimitri said coolly as he stared into Syra's purple eyes. Syra felt her anger slowly began to dissipate.

"Sorry. Well, now I don't have to act like a pathetic little hatchling. Hey Connor! You don't have to follow me around anymore." Syra said when the shadows had completely disappears.

"No can do. I swore that I would look after you. That vow ends when one of us dies." Connor said. He had been unfazed by the show of power.

Sparx spoke up. "How did you do that, Bonny Darko?" he said, referencing Syra's show of power.

"Where'd the night light come from?" Syra asked with a mischievous smile on her lips.

"Night Light!" Sparx said indignantly.

"Now's not the time for explanations or your pride." Dimitri said. "The apes have probably noticed that you two are missing by now. We need to get going to the cave and meet up with Ignitus." And with that, the group set off, walking because Syra and Connor couldn't walk yet. After a while of walking, Syra decided to break the monotony.

"So, you called yourself a 'Knight of Warfang'. What does that mean?" She asked Dimitri.

"A Knight of Warfang is a dragon chosen at birth. They train for their whole lives for one point: to defend Warfang and her people at all costs. There are only ever twenty four Knights at one time. A male and female for each element and their apprentices." Dimitri let out a sad sigh. "I used to be the apprentice of Iedus, the late Ice Knight. But he's gone; making me the youngest knight ever at the age of twelve."

"Twelve? I thought you were fifteen." Syra said.

"No, Sparx is fifteen though." Dimitri answered.

"How did you meet Sparx?" Syra asked curiously. Sparx was currently sleeping in-between Dimitri's horns.

"Three years ago Sparx ran into a bunch of apes and they were using him as a lantern. Iedus and I saved him and he offered to help us out any way he can. Now he delivers messages throughout the dragon temple."

"Wait a minute, if Knights are taken from birth, does that mean they don't know who their parents are?" Syra asked.

"Yes, that is true."

"Can you find out who your parents are?"

"It is generally looked down upon for a Knight to seek out what might have been their families." Dimitri answered.

"Why? That's stupid." Syra said, applying her young and simple logic to this scenario.

"Knights must have all of their loyalty to Warfang, and no one else. If you have the choice between saving your mother, or brother, or father, or a group of innocent civilians, who would you choose?"

Syra had to bite her tongue. "I would try to save my family." she lied. _I doubt I could forgive my parents for abandoning me in Concurrent Skies._ She thought to herself.

"Exactly, a knight would have to save to the innocents, but knowing that the life of your family is hanging in balance, you would choose to save them." Dimitri shook his head. "That is not the way Knights are supposed to act."

"Do you know who is your father is?" Syra asked.

Dimitri's face dropped. "Yes."

≤Ω≥

Gahiji stood inside of the entry hall in the tower at Concurrent Skies, where Spyro and Cynder made their home. On opposite sides of the tower, that is. He was waiting for Spyro's personal servant to escort him in. The door opened to reveal a ragged looking cheetah that was taller than Gahiji. He stared at the jackal and said "Are you Commander Gahiji?" the cheetah asked.

"Yes, I am. Are you the personal servant of General Spyro, Hunter?" Gahiji asked back.

"Yes, I am here to lead you to the Generals." Hunter said, not sounding so happy about be being called 'Spyro's personal servant'.

"I expected the personal servant of Spyro to be better kept." Gahiji said as they began to walk to down the hall.

"'Personal Slave' is more like it. Spyro treats dirt better than me. It's Terra who has the better life." Hunter told the jackal.

"Who is Terra?" Gahiji asked. He had never heard that name.

"Doesn't surprise me much that you haven't heard of her. Terra is Cynder's personal hand-maiden. She is treated very well, always fed and given fine clothes to wear." Hunter said.

Gahiji snorted. "Sounds like quite the spoiled, annoying little b-" Before Gahiji could react, Hunter twisted around and slammed his fist into Gahiji's gut. Before the Jackal could double over, the cheetah grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and slammed him into the wall.

"Don't you even _think _about insulting her again." Hunter hissed with anger heavy in his voice. Gahiji slammed his knee into Hunter chest. Hunter let go of the jackal for a second, and that was all Gahiji need to kick Hunter away.

"There is no glory in killing you, servant." Gahiji said. "But I know a warrior when I see one. I will not insult your friend again." Hunter just growled as he walked away.

"Come on, jackal. It's best not to keep Spyro waiting." He beckoned as he walked ahead, his mood doing no better. They continued walking through the labyrinth like hall ways of the tower.

"Does this tower have a name?" Gahiji asked. This was actually his first time in Concurrent Skies, and he didn't like just calling this place 'Concurrent Skies'.

"It does, actually." Hunter replied, only doing so to be courteous. He entertained no thought of conversation with the mutt that had insulted his friend. "The name is 'Spes Morte'. Spyro named this place in an old, dead language."

"What does it mean." Gahiji asked.

Hunter just looked on ahead as he answered. "Hope's Death."

Gahiji snorted. "People do say that this is where hope goes to die."

Hunter ignored the jackal as they continued walking. Finally they reached a large set of double doors, designed for dragons to enter and exit. Hunter walked up to the doors and slammed his paw against the door several times. The door was pushed from the inside and opened by a female panther. She was slim, but still had a solid build. Her eyes were a dark blue color and her fur was black and silky. She wore a sandy colored tunic tied off with a brown braided belt, and with leggings of the same brown color.

"Hello, Hunter." She said shyly.

"Terra." Hunter nodded to the pantheress. She stepped to the side and motioned for them to enter. Inside was a war room. There was a large, round table in the center of the room with a map of the swamp in the center. At opposite sides of the table were Spyro and Cynder, eyeing each other like they were about to tear each other's throats out.

"It's about time you got here, Commander." Spyro said gruffly as Gahiji walked in. Hunter walked and stood next to the cruel purple dragon while Terra walked and stood by Cynder. "The only company I had was this air headed female." Spyro said, motioning to Cynder. She snorted and snarled.

"At least I can control my temper. The way you killed the ice knight was unnecessary, and all that just because he insulted your pride." she replied, almost feeling sorry for the ice knight. Almost.

"Everyone knows that when you insult my pride, you get skinned alive." Spyro retorted.

"No they don't."

"When they find the body they will."

Gahiji coughed gently to get the attention of the two bickering dragons. "Oh, yes." Cynder said, "You have returned, I imagined that you found Syra." Gahiji nodded. "Good. Could you show her in?" Gahiji coughed gently in his throat.

"I said I have found her, not that I have her." Gahiji stated boldly. The apes had whispered that those who show such boldness after a failure didn't last long. But Gahiji was no coward. Spyro turned his gaze on Gahiji.

"What did you just say, jackal? I thought I heard you say that you _failed_." Spyro hissed. Gahiji only confirmed what he had already said. Spyro took a few steps to Gahiji. When the dragon stood in front of Gahiji, the jackal finally realized the true size of the dragon. The average size of a full grown male dragon is seven feet at the shoulder with their elongated necks being two feet long. Spyro was eight feet at the shoulder, and his neck was three feet long with a body length to match, but that wasn't all. Spyro was muscular, the cords of muscle rippling and easily visible underneath his scales. He was easily stronger than the guardian of earth, Terrador. The dark purple dragon was twice the size of Gahiji, and even though the jackals had a reputation for being vicious warriors, he couldn't help but be intimidated.

Spyro moved with speed disproportionate for his body as he slammed the back of his paw against Gahiji's chest. Terra let out a startled shriek as the jackal was sent flying across the room and slammed against the wall. Hunter only smirked, entertained that the Gahiji was facing the wrath of his master. Spyro walked slowly to the Gahiji.

"The most fearless of the Guardian's armies have _trembled_ when they caught a glimpse of my purple scales and metal blade." Spyro growled through clenched teeth as he stalked closer to the jackal who was struggling to get back to his feet. Before Gahiji could stand completely Spyro shot a pellet of compressed air and it hit Gahiji in the chest. The pellet sent Gahiji back to the ground and knocked the wind out of him.

"The fiercest of the panther chieftains _cowered_ when I came to them, even though it was in peace." Spyro said as he continued to walk slowly towards the fallen jackal, his overwhelming rage evident in his every move. Gahiji tried to stand again, but Spyro grabbed him with a forepaw and throw him across the room. Gahiji hit the door with enough force to open it. He tried once more to stand in the now open door way.

"The rowdiest of all the ape hordes follow my commands _to the letter_!" Spyro roared again. As soon as Gahiji found his feet and balance, Spyro stepped up and smacked Gahiji with his strong and muscular tail. The jackal flew down the hall and skidded along the polished granite floor. Gahiji groaned, not having the strength to try to stand. Terra moved to go out of the war room and help Gahiji, but Cynder moved her tail in front of her. Spyro walked up to the downed jackal and placed his paw on Gahiji's chest. Gahiji noticed a line going around Spyro's wrist, like a scar.

"And you have the _gall_ to proclaim your failure so boldly to me!" Spyro hissed out through clenched teeth. He leaned his face close to Gahiji's, forcing the jackal to look him in the eye. Spyro's eyes seemed to be made of hate, anger and pride. Gahiji was sure that Spyro would kill him there, despite the fact that doing so would sever his connections to the jackals. Gahiji realized that all there was to do was answer Spyro's question. He leaned his face closer Spyro's, snarling and trying to seem as fierce as he could while pinned and helpless.

"Yes." The downed jackal said while staring into Spyro's dark, almost black, purple eyes. Spyro pulled his head back a bit. Gahiji expected a fiery death, and wasn't expecting what happened next. A low rumbling laugh spilled from Spyro's lips. "You entertain me, little jackal. I will let you live." He said.

"Surprise, surprise. You actually thought beyond your anger for once." Cynder said condescendingly. Spyro snarled at her.

"At least my servant knows his place." Spyro said. Hunter in turn hissed at Spyro.

"My servant actually likes me." Cynder retorted.

"Really, because-" Spyro began but was soon cut off by Cynder.

"Just stop talking and get in here, we have work to do." Cynder said, and Spyro quickly replied.

"That's what you said." He said with a smug and immature smile. Cynder rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I did say tha- Wait a minute!" she screeched as she realized what Spyro was implying. In retaliation she shot a glob of poison at the infuriating purple dragon. He simply waved his tail and sent the blob into the wall. Spyro just laughed as he took his paw off of Gahiji.

"Hunter, take the Commander to the infirmary. And Cynder, if you still want to get some 'work done', I have nothing to do today." Spyro said, winking at Cynder. He was very soon tackled to the ground by Cynder, who was fighting the urge to tear his lungs out and slap him with them.

"I didn't know they were mates." Gahiji stated as he and Hunter helped him to the infirmary. Hunter had his arm going under Gahiji's arms and shoulders, while Gahiji had his arms slung over Hunter's shoulders.

"They're not." Hunter said. "Spyro loves to make Cynder's life hell whenever he can."

"That makes sense." the injured jackal said, wincing as he realized that one of his ribs had cracked.

"Never understood that dragon's anger, despite what everyone claims, Spyro is the most patient and methodical person I know. He will keep you alive and make it look like you work for him so when you return home, it will seem as if you are a traitor, and they will want to kill you." Hunter said.

"How do you know that?" Gahiji inquired.

"That is his plan for me." Hunter stated.

≤Ω≥

"Ignitus!" Dimitri called as he entered the cave where he and Ignitus were hiding in. "Ignitus! There is someone you should meet!" The large form of Ignitus shuffled down the tunnels till he was at the cave entrance.

"Unless it is Terrador, Cyril, Volteer, Angel, Varja, or Salama, I don't hold much care." Ignitus said glumly as he listed the names of his closest friends, all of which were separated from him do to the war.

"It will lighten your heart, I swear." Dimitri said to the depressed fire dragon. He motioned with his tail, and Syra walked in. Ignitus stared at the little hatchling.

"She looks just like Varja." He said staring at the youngest dragoness he had seen in a while. Dimitri, however, had to ask a question.

"Who is Varja? Volteer mentioned him, and then tried to apologize to Terrador for it." Dimitri asked the older dragon.

"Varja is a female, for one." Ignitus stated, still casting sideways glances at Syra. "And for two, her story is not mine to tell." Dimitri only nodded. Syra was a different story.

"Wait! Tell me! Please! Please!" She said as Ignitus was closing the matter. Ignitus looked at Connor who had just entered.

"A wolf?" Ignitus questioned. "What is a wolf doing so far from Ice Fang?" he continued.

"That doesn't matter. Syra has something to tell you." Dimitri cut in. Syra smiled.

"I know where the Guardian of wind is." She stated with a smug smile. Hope seemed to fill Ignitus' face.

"Really? Where is she?" Ignitus questioned. Syra's smile just widened.

"I have some demands first."

**A/N: I am back with a new chapter. Gahiji got smacked around, that was a fun scene to write.**

**Gahiji: I thought you liked me!**

**Syra: Nobody likes you Doughnut.**

**Gahiji: My names not Doughnut!**

**Shadow(Me):Calm down the both of you! You're worse than Spyro and Cynder. What are those two doing anyways?**

**Cynder: *Attempting to tear out Spyro's liver***

**Shadow(me): What and why are you doing that!?**

**Cynder: I was told I would get a Klondike bar.**

**Shadow(Me):*Face palms* any way, Terra showed up! Yea! I do not own Terra, She is owned by RiverStyxx. *whispers* did I spell it write this time? Good. Sparx has a new nick-name for Syra. It's quite clever if you ask me. And I have been referencing! If you can get the two references I have made in this chapter, you win! One of them is obvious, one of them is hard, and none of them are related to 'Donnie Darko', man, I never saw that movie and I know that it is creepy. Well that's it for this A/N, see you next time. Please review.**


	9. The Nightmares

**A/N: Hey all you peoples! I made a mistake with the whole story that I recently fixed. If you were to read any of the previous chapter were Syra is introduced, chapters 1, 3, and 5, you will see that she now has small streaks of crimson red and fiery orange doting her hide. Forgetting to these streaks was a major mistake on my part, and I am deeply sorry for it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Eight: The Nightmare

"Demands?" Ignitus said incredulously. "You have demands?"

"Yeah, you know demands. Requests usually made between two parties in an exchange of information, in this case." Syra said, as if it were obvious. Ignitus shook his head.

"I know what demands are, young one." He said, giving her a strange look. "But one such as you should not be able to understand the concept of political manipulation. You're too young." A low groan came from the wolf.

"Pup, just get on with it. There is no point in killing his hope, so just tell him what you want and be done." Connor said gruffly, the bluntness of wolves showing through obviously. Syra just rolled her eyes.

"Yes _dad_." Syra replied sarcastically, but she still had a playful smile on. "Okay, my demands are these: I want to be a student in the Dragon Temple, we both know that it is the best academy in the whole of the Dragon Realms. Second, when this is all said and done, I want a house in Warfang, and a nice house, not cheap little shack. I want special training in magic, fire and shadow. And I want special consideration for the position of Shadow Guardian." This last demand set Ignitus off.

"What do mean special consideration? The guardians are chosen to fill many roles, and all are equally considered! Not only that, but I have no idea how skilled you are in your element! And why would you want magic training and fire training! You must be a shadow dragon!" Ignitus raged. Under normal circumstances, he would have been much calmer, but due to the fact that he recently watched his three closest friends get beaten into submission while he was being dragged to safety, and now this hatchling came and offered him hope to find another of his friends, only to ask for ridiculous demands. Syra sighed.

"Everyone assumes that I am pathetic and helpless, I don't blame them, though." she said, unfazed by Ignitus' rant. It was true, Syra was dirty and thin, her black scales scuffed and dulled, her ribs sticking out, and the small streaks on her body being covered in mud. "But that's okay; it is always fun to see their faces when I do something like this." She finished with a smug smile as she held up her right forepaw. Her face didn't scrunch in concentration like most hatchlings did when they tried to use their element. Silently but suddenly, shadow fire appeared in her hand. Ignitus' eyes widened. Most hatchlings her age could barely summon their elements from their mouths, the simplest way, and even then they were exhausted. Yet this dragoness was wielding it like it was nothing at all.

Slowly, the black flame began to twirl around her claws like a snake, looping around the points and dancing. "That's for the special consideration." Syra said with a smirk. She held up her other paw, and a flame appeared in her palm. This actually caused Dimitri, Sparx, and Ignitus to gasp. Connor was only confused by their confusion. He did not know that only the rare purple dragon could control multiple elements. "That is for the fire training." Syra said once more. She formed both elements into balls in her paws, only before mashing them together. When she pulled her paws apart, all that was left was a floating sphere of crimson energy.

"And _this_ is for the magic training." She said with a broad smirk on her face. Ignitus was astounded. He had never seen such a manipulation of one's element from such a young age. Even he, the most elementally skilled of the guardians, didn't have that much control over his element. Syra grinned as she stared at all of their faces. Unfortunately for her, she was no master over all of her elements. The ball of energy began to pulsate and shake. A low whine, one that freezes someone's blood and their bones to lock, began to emanate from it. Her grin dropped as she said "Uh oh." The ball exploded in a flash of red energy, splashing against everyone.

≤Ω≥

_There was only one dragoness that Ignitus saw. She had honey yellow scales with a dark grey under belly and violet wing membranes. Her horns were S shaped and started at her temples. Starting at her snout and ending at her the base of her neck were dark blue zigzag lines. She had a worried expression on as she ran to Ignitus._

_"Ignitus!" She yelled as she got closer._

_"Salama!" He replied. The dragoness threw herself on Ignitus and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her embrace. The fire guardian wrapped his arms around her back as he pressed his snout into her neck and draped his wings over her._

_"Salama! It's you! Oh, it has been too long, my love!" He said as he pressed his face into the crook of her neck._

_"Ignitus don't look up." Salama said with a frightened voice. "Whatever you do, don't look up." Salama was scared. She was never scared, even when Ignitus had to leave her in the Shattered Vale and go to war. If something spooked Salama, Ignitus knew that it was best left alone. But, he wasn't in control of his movement as his head slowly lifted from her shoulder. He was horrified by what he saw. It was all of his friends and loved ones, dead. He saw Terrador who was shredded and beaten, his jaw broken and hanging loosely. Volteer was pinned to the ground by many spears and arrows, and Cyril was impaled on a large stake, blood dripping from his mouth like a steady rain. Two more dragonesses were laying on each other, both shredded till they looked more like piles of meat then dragons. Another dragon, this one looking much like Ignitus but younger, was torn in half. Ignitus eyes widened as he recoiled his head to look at Salama. She was crying now. She _never_ cried._

_"Salama, what's wrong?" Ignitus said, hoping to distract himself from his friend's gruesome deaths._

_"I am sorry, I am so sorry." the dragoness said as Ignitus felt something warm splash against his chest. He looked down, only to see a gold colored blade piercing Salama's chest and her blood on his chest. Her body was torn from Ignitus' arms and flung to the dead bodies of his friends. Spyro was now standing in front of him. He wore a wicked grin as he grabbed Ignitus by the throat and flung him into the bodies of his loved ones._

≤Ω≥

_"Guilty!" Screamed the mole judge as he slammed his gable down onto the podium. "For the murder, conspiracy, high treason, and many other charges against you, _Sir _Dimitri."_

_"No, I didn't do anything!" Dimitri yelled as guards came and grabbed him by the forelegs and dragged him away. Dimitri was shackled and had chains wrapped around his wings and neck. "I am innocent!" he pleaded as he was dragged out of the court house and into the streets of Warfang. Citizens gathered at the edges of the streets, yelling and jeering at him._

_"Murderer!"_

_"Monster!'_

_"Treasonous scum!"_

_"You don't even deserve a trial!"_

_"I'll kill you myself!"_

_These are the words they yelled to Dimitri as he was dragged to the dungeons. The whole time he was yelling his innocence, how they didn't even present him a proper trial. But his pleas fell on deaf ears, for the guards that dragged him also jeered at him and insulted him as well. He was finally taken away from the crowds and thrown into the darkest and worst kept cell there was. Dimitri was unceremoniously tossed into the cell. He groaned as the guard kicked his body and left, closing the cell's door with a loud clank. Dimitri just laid there as he slowly fell into despair. But the nightmare was far from its apex. He heard the clacking of a set of claws walking his way._

_"Hello, Dimitri." Dimitri head snapped up at the cruel voice that came to his ears. The voice was his; identical in tone and pitch, but this voice and the dragon it belonged to was much crueler. He looked and saw what he feared most, Scourge. The dragons looked exactly like Dimitri, except his scales and horns were black and seem to absorb all light. Scourge's underbelly, wing membranes, and tail spade were all a dark, blood red. Scourge snarled at Dimitri._

_"It looks like, despite your best efforts, I have escaped." Scourge said cruelly._

_"No," Dimitri said, his mouth hanging open. "Y-you can't be real! You're just in my head!"_

_"Well, I am out now. And I have been having fun, killing, conspiring, and just causing havoc." Scourge said, the snarl never leaving his lips. "And it has all been in _your _name." Dimitri's eyes widened._

_"What?! Why would you do that?" He yelled at the dark and evil dragon. Scourge only laughed a cruel and chilling cackle._

_"Because, it is your greatest fear." Scourge said cruelly as he leaned his face closer to the bars of the cell. "And this is the one rational fear that you should have, and the one you should ward against the most."_

≤Ω≥

_"Foolish girl." Spyro said as he and Cynder circled Syra. "Did you honestly think you could escape us?" He asked again as shackles appeared on Syra's limbs._

_"Did you ever think that freedom could be yours?" Cynder added in, a cruel and amused smile playing across her lips. "You are _ours_ no matter what you do. You will never be free."_

_"B-b-but, I am free! I escaped!" Syra tried to protest. The two evil dragons circling her just laughed._

_"You were never-" Before Spyro could finish, Connor appeared, literally, out of nowhere and latched on to Spyro's neck. Connor pulled out his knife and jabbed it into the purple dragon's neck. The dark brown wolf then pulled out his hand axe and started to repeatedly hack the axe into Spyro's neck. After a few blow the purple dragon fell to the ground, dead. Connor then pulled out his spear and leapt into the air, spinning around and jabbing the spear into Cynder's temple._

≤Ω≥

Syra woke up gasping for air, flailing her limbs. She felt a pair of arms lock around her. Syra opened her eyes to find Connor hugging her, whispering softly "Tá tú sábháilte, bhfuil gach maith" over and over again. Normally she would refuse such comfort, like she regularly did with Cynder's personal hand-maid, Terra. But just suffering through your worst fear would make you take any comfort you can get. She whimpers, hating the true feeling of helplessness.

"T-they capture me again, and then they chained me. But then you showed up, and you saved me." Syra stuttered out. She looked around and saw Dimitri and Ignitus shivering on the ground, still experiencing their greatest fears. She remembered the events that led up to them all being put under. She looked at Connor, who still held her and repeated that phrase, "Tá tú sábháilte, bhfuil gach maith," over and over again.

"How are you not affected? That made everyone by caught in their greatest fear, so how you were not affected?" Syra asked, trying not to remember the feeling of having her freedom stripped away. Connor just stared into her eyes as he said steadily.

"When you live your greatest fear every waking moment, and know that it will never end, you find that life is a nightmare that can only be relieved by death. My greatest fear is now waking up, for it will always remind me of how I got here." Connor said, his eyes staring into Syra's. She now knew why people say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. In Connor's eyes, Syra saw deep sadness, regret, and great shame. But one thing seemed to stick out. A protective fire blazed in his eyes, which she just now realized were the same color of oak leaves in the summer.

"Your magic did nothing to me. I face my greatest fear by living, so I am afraid of little." Connor stated again. "We should wake the others." Syra said. Connor nodded and walked over to Ignitus, pulling out his dagger along the way. When he reached Ignitus, he quickly pricked the sensitive area between the fire dragons toes.

"They do not wake up immediately, it will be a minute before they rouse." Connor said, as Ignitus groaned.

Syra walked over to Dimitri and shook his shoulder. He groaned, signifying that he was awake, but didn't wake up immediately. She tried to shaking him more violently. That too didn't work. She had one more idea, and smiled at the deviousness of it. Syra leaned her face close to Dimitri's, and placed a long, childish lick to his cheek. He darted up, extremely surprised by the way he was woken. As soon as Syra finished her lick, she darted behind Connor's legs, giggling like the little girl she was. Dimitri only stiffened as if a commanding officer was nearby. When Ignitus was roused, he looked down at Syra.

"What, was that?" He asked calmly, trying not to let it show that he recently lived through his greatest fear. He was doing a better job than Dimitri, who was just staring listlessly off into space.

"That was my fear element. It is why I want training in magic. I don't quite know how it works, but from what I gather, and experienced," Syra gave a quick and light shudder, remembering the punishments that Cynder doled out, "It makes people afraid. I don't know how, I just know that from experience." She said.

"How many elements do you have?" Ignitus said emotionlessly. He was still shocked by witnessing his greatest fear, but he did well to hide it.

"Three, shadow, fire, and fear."

"Why do you want training when you have shown such a command over your elements?" Ignitus questioned.

"I am not a master. Most of the time, I will use the wrong element. Say I want to cover myself with shadow to be stealthy, I might just cover myself with flames, then not be able to control those flames." Syra answered steadily. _So this is what this is what a job interview feels like._ She thought to herself, slightly amused. Ignitus seemed to be stuck in thought. Without another word, he turned around and walked deeper into the cave. Syra frowned.

"Hey! What about my demands? Where are you going? Get back here, you big red scaly!" She said, not happy at all. She humphed and crossed her arms before walking over to Connor. "I wanna take a nap." She said as she looked up at Connor. Syra was only three-foot at the shoulder with a one-foot long neck, which made Dimitri a head taller than her. Her tail snaked around and wrapped around the wolf's legs and yanked them out from underneath him. He let out a yelp as he fell on his back. He was about protest to being knocked over when he saw Syra. She had her upper body, head and neck resting on Connor's chest, her hind legs splayed out to the sides. Her eyes were closed.

"I said I wanted to take a nap." Syra said not bothering to open her eyes. Connor thought about resisting, but a flashback stopped him.

_Connor didn't hear the feet padding against the snow, the padding getting closer and closer. He heard a twig snapping and turned around, that worked perfectly for the person running up behind him. All Connor saw was a blur slamming against his chest and knocking him to the ground. Before he had a chance to pull any kind of resistance, he heard a familiar and girlish giggle. He looked down and saw a younger version if the black she-wolf from his flashback at the tavern. One major difference was her coat and harness. The harness seemed lighter, with lighter versions of his weapons decorating the belt and back straps. Her coat was also seemed to be made of thinner leather, with fur lining the inside of it where Connor's had none._

_"I am tried, and that cave is too stuffy," She said as she laid her head against his chest. "I much prefer to nap in the open air."_

_"Nap?" Connor asked playfully. "Shouldn't you be patrolling the borders with Liam?" He said raising his eyebrow._

_"He said that I could head back if I saved him a deer haunch." The she-wolf said smugly. "Now I want to take a nap." She said once more, authority in her voice._

_"It's a good thing I love you so much." He said with a grin as he lay his head back, content to wait till the she-wolf was asleep to take her back to the cave that he lived in._

_"I love you too, Athair ionúin." She said, her eyes drooping as she rested._

_"And I you, iníon ionúin."_

Connor looked down at Syra know, her face mirroring the face that of his _iníon ionúin_ from so long ago. He didn't have the will to force her to leave. So all he did was allow his head to lay on the cave floor, and rest. "Sleep well, pup." Connor said quietly.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri had left the cave a bit after Ignitus had, saying he needed to clear his head. That was very close to the truth. He had walked a ways away from the cave when he stopped. He lay down on his gut, took a deep breath, and said quietly, "Show yourself." In his mind's eye, he saw a dragon approaching. The dragon that had so recently tormented him. Scourge. The black dragon was very irritated, and said, although it was almost a yell.

_"What do you want Dimitri!" _Scourge was deeply irritated. There was nothing more he hated then Dimitri, especially when since Dimitri refused to ever let Scourge 'help', despite the fact that Scourge was part of the ice knight. _"What could you possibly want!?" _Scourge said again, his voice still close to a yell. Dimitri didn't know why, but Scourge seemed to be stuck in a perpetual state of anger.

Dimitri kept a level head as he said "Just checking to see that you are still here." He said calmly.

_"Why, because of that nightmare where I escaped?" _Scourge said, calming down slightly. Slightly.

"How do know about that?" Dimitri asked, slightly defensive. Scourge let out a chuckle.

_"I tell you so often, and yet you always ignore me. We are one in the same. The white mark and the black dot. I know all you know." _Scourge said , a cruel grin spreading across his lips.

"We are _nothing_ a like." Dimitri said with a growl. Standing up and forcing Scourge to the recess of his mind. Scourge howled out in rage as he was shoved aside.

_"You will see one day, Dimitri!" _Scourge yelled out. _"You will need me one day, and I will be all too happy to feast on your enemies!" _Dimitri shivered as he made his way back to the cave.

≤Ω≥

Syra was woken by Sparx buzzing by her ear. "Wake up, Bonny Darko." He said loudly. She picked her head up only enough to open her mouth and chomp down, catching Sparx in her mouth. His scream was muffled enough so that she didn't hear him. She set her head back onto Connor's chest and went back to sleep. She was roused a few minutes later when Dimitri walked into the cave in his full suit of armor. Syra picked up her head and stared at the white dragon.

"How can you _wear_ all that?" She asked as Dimitri began to slowly remove the armor piece by piece. Sparx had flown out of Syra's mouth when she opened to to speak to Dimitri. He stared at Syra, his eyes wide. Most surprisingly, he began to laugh and pump his fists up and down.

"Yes! Someone that I can banter with! Someone to trade insults and jokes with! I am so happy!" Sparx said loudly and happily. Syra rolled her eyes.

"Great, now I'll have a floating glow stick following me around." she said with a sly smile.

"You bet, Bonny Darko!" Sparx said happily. Dimitri let out a small cough from his chest. Sparx looked around, saying 'oh' before flitting over to Dimitri and helping him remove his armor. Connor still slept, not caring about all that was going on. Ignitus stomped in.

"I have thought it over, young one, and I agree to all of your demands." Ignitus said formally. Syra was shocked to say the least. She knew that her demands were drastic, so she expected debating and dealing, not complete submission. But she wasn't going to complain.

"Good." She said. "The wind guardian is being held in the Crags." Syra said, a smug and mischievous smile on her lips.

Ignitus nodded. "Right, but where in the Crags?" Syra's smiled widened.

"I never said that I would tell you where she was _exactly_. The only person that knows that specific information is me." she said smugly.

"You politic!" Sparx said accusingly. Syra shrugged.

"And I am guessing the only way you're going to tell us the exact location is if we let you accompany us to the Crags, correct?" Dimitri asked. Syra nodded. Ignitus rubbed his temples. "Fine, fine, fine. You can accompany Dimitri to the Crags. Sparx, Dimitri?"

"Yes, Master Ignitus?"

"Go arrange transport to the Crags in the nearby dragonfly village. Syra, you're coming with me. You need a bath."

**A/N: Well, I got that chapter down. It's not that hard to write longer chapters. You just got to get the hang of it. Syra's gonna take a bath, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. And hilarity. I hope that it is a funny chapter, that one. And yes, I haven't even ****_started_**** the Dragon Temple level, and they are already heading after the guardians. I am interesting. Looks like we got another peek into Connor's past. Not much mystery on his backstory, but hopefully enough to keep you all interested. If you can correctly guess the relation between the unnamed she-wolf, you win, and no one tried to find the references from last chapter. I will reveal that next chapter. If you haven't figured out yet, I update every Saturday, or at least I try to. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please review. I now your there, I can feel your eyes reading this story and skipping over the review button. Please review.**

**REVIEW GOSH DANGIT!**


	10. The Bath

**A/N: Well, no one guessed what the references were, so I will tell you here. The first one was: _"Everyone knows that when you insult my pride, you get skinned alive." Spyro retorted. "No they don't." "When they find the body they will."-_ That was referencing 'Once Upon a Time'; Rumplestiltskin said something like this to Belle. The second was a reference to Red vs. Blue, Syra saying to Gahiji 'no one likes you Doughnut'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Nine: The Bath

"No thanks, I'd rather go with Dimitri." Syra said, a slight franticness creeping into the edges of her voice. Ignitus chuckled and shook his head. The wound on his arm had thick leaves tied around it. Dimitri had been able to find a few red gems to heal it, but not enough to bring him back to fighting state; just enough so that can move around again. Ignitus looked to Dimitri and Sparx and motioned for them to leave. Dimitri nodded and walked out of the cave with Sparx following. He took off and flew in the direction of the nearby Dragonfly village with Sparx flying by his head. Syra gulped.

"Little one, I can barely tell if you are black, dark grey or dark brown. You need a bath." Ignitus said firmly. He cracked a small smile, amused by the hatchling's reluctance to bathe. "And you smell of ape, blood, and wet dog." He said again. Connor snorted at the last part. Syra giggled. "Come, you need a bath." Ignitus said firmly.

"No, I don't want to take a bath!" Syra said, trying to shift through the shadows, but instead lit herself on fire. "That could have gone better." She said as she stared at her flame covered paw. Connor walked over and kicked dust onto her until all of the flames were doused. Now she was dirtier. Ignitus crinkled his nose as he stared at the dirty hatchling.

"You are taking a bath." Ignitus said, not leaving room for argument. His tail snaked around and pushed her in front of him. He continued down deeper into the cave, pushing Syra in front of him along the way. Eventually, they reached a three way fork. Ignitus pushed Syra down the tunnel on the right. They continued walking for a while before they came across a spring in a dome shaped cave. There was a small hole in the roof, not large enough for Syra to escape from. Rays of sun filtered through, and there were a few makeshift torches on the walls. Beneath the torches was a large block of soap, a sponge, a bottle of scented oil, a water basin, and a canister of some kind of polish all wrapped up in a drying rag. The water gently bubbled in the center, not from heat; this spring was actually one of the springs that fed into the Silver River.

"Where did you get all of this stuff?" Syra asked, obviously stalling.

"The dragonflies were kind enough to provide us with cleaning supplies." The water was cold, so Ignitus breathed a light flame on the surface of the water, warming it so that is wasn't so cold. When he turned to tell Syra to get in, he noticed that she was missing.

"Where could she be...?" He muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin. He looked around to try to find her. Ignitus started to peek behind some of the rocks on the ground, but couldn't find the black dragoness. He started to look into the cave where they came from, but she didn't show up. He remembers something an old friend had told him: _No one ever looks up_. Ignitus did, however, look up now. There was nothing special about the ceiling of the spring. But now he noticed a spot that seemed slightly blacker then the rest of the ceiling. Raising an eyebrow, he reared up on his hind legs, using his tail and wings for balance. He reached up a forepaw and prodded the spot. His claw met warm scales. He landed back on his feet and looked back at the spot.

Syra let her wings fall from her underbelly as well as her head to curl back from her chest and peer, upside down, at Ignitus. She giggled nervously. Ignitus reared up once more and used his forepaw to gently grab her and place her on the ground. "Now in." He said and pointed at the spring.

"No, I don't wanna!" She complained. It was hard to believe that this was the same hatchling that gave demands for the information of the wind guardian's whereabouts. Ignitus sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Please, the quicker we do this, the faster it will be over, and the faster you can be done. Just get into the spring." He said, hoping to use sense to sway this young dragon. If it was any other hatchling, they would have just listened to him. But Syra seemed to defy him for defiance's sake. Syra stomped a small paw on the ground. "No." she said firmly. Ignitus sighed again.

"You are going to take a bath, it is that simple. You don't really have a say in the matter." He now said, telling her instead of asking her. Once more she shook her head and stamped her little paw. He sighed once again. "I have tried asking you, I have tried telling you, so now I will try forcing you." Ignitus said, slightly sad. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to force the hatchling, but his patience was wearing thin, and he was high-strung because of the nightmare. He reached out and picked up Syra with his forepaw. The sudden motion caused her to squeal slightly. He motioned to put her in the water, but she stopped him.

"No." She said firmly with an air of authority, like she was controlling an animal. He stopped, puzzled by Syra. He moved to place her in the water, but she only said, "No." this time more slowly. He still moved her towards the water. Surprisingly, she reached out and smacked him across the nose with her forepaw. The sudden smack caused Ignitus to jump slightly. "Down." She said with the same firmness as the first time. Slowly, Ignitus placed her back on the ground. "Good big red scaly!" She said as she reared up on her hind legs to pat Ignitus' chin; it was all she could reach, even on her tip-toes.

Once more, Ignitus wondered how this hatchling could do the things she can. Usually, hatchlings can't balance on their hind paws for more than a few seconds at best, whereas the older dragons have the balance to stay on their hind legs for minutes at a time, and even a take a few steps in one direction. Yet here she was, balancing perfectly on her hind paws and patting his chin. What made it even more impressive is that Syra had to hop to pat him, and she landed perfectly without any indication that she was losing her balance. _The Grace of_ _Wind, the Mystery of Shadow, and the Spirit of Fire. _He thought to himself. The rest of the saying came to him, and he found himself thinking about Dimitri. _The Nobility of Ice, the Strength of Earth, and the Cleverness of Electricity. _Ignitus was brought out of his reverie when Syra started to walk away. "Get back here!" He said as he took a few steps towards the defiant hatchling. She let out a squeal and ran off. He sighed as he walked briskly after the hatchling.

≤Ω≥

What Connor saw led him to believe the wrong thing. Syra ran through the tunnels with a frantic look on her face, Ignitus following behind with an annoyed look on his face. Syra jumps behind Connor's legs and says, "Hide me!" Connor stood up, grabbed his crossbow and jet loose a bolt hit the rocky roof directly above Ignitus head. The large red dragon stopped, with wide eyes, shocked at how close that bolt came to his head. Thanks to the bulb at the side of Connor's crossbow, he was able to reload it quickly and take aim at Ignitus again.

"Take one more step and this bolt goes through your eye." Connor said calmly, adjusting his aim so that when the bolt is fired, it will go through Ignitus' eye and most likely kill him. Ignitus recoils his head. Calmly, Ignitus, began to speak.

"Wolf, this is not what it looks like." He spoke as to not accidently set off the wolf.

"What I saw was the pup running here and you following, that doesn't look good at all." Connor said steadily, not moving his aim at all.

"This is just a misunderstanding, I swear that I did no harm to her, nor do I intend any harm." Ignitus said. He know only a little about wolfish culture; Terrador was the one who was trying to sway them to join their side. Ignitus knew that wolves don't lie, and that any swear, promise, or vow cannot be broken. "I just want to give her a bath." When he saw the wolf lower his crossbow, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Why was she running then?" Connor asked.

"She is not the most stubborn hatchling that I have ever met, but she defiantly is one of them." Ignitus said. "Where did Syra go?" Ignitus asked, looking around. He couldn't see the hatchling anywhere. Connor to look behind his legs, and didn't see the hatchling. Connor looked back to the cave entrance. Syra was trying to sneak out, using the commotion between Ignitus and Connor as cover. She let out a small and innocent smile. Connor walked over to her, picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She squealed and thrashed, but Connor's firm grip kept her in place.

"Let go you big meany!" Syra said as she lightly pounded on his back. Connor ignored the hatchling's pleas and walked to Ignitus.

"Where is this so called bath?" Connor asked the large fire dragon. Ignitus said, 'This way.' and led Connor down the tunnels to the spring.

"She won't go in." Ignitus said as they walked into the spring.

"I won't be asking her." Was all Connor said as he stepped up to the and tossed Syra in. She twisted around in the air and squealed. In the little time she was in the air, she twisted around and let loose a blast of shadow fire. Right beneath her. Ignitus' eyes widened as he shouted, "NO!" The shadow fire would blind and burn her, and cause her to drown. He reached out be to out to grab her, but then she did something she shouldn't be able to. She shifted through her shadow fire and popped out in the tunnel that led back to the cave. Syra looked between Connor and Ignitus, both were staring back with amazement in their eyes. She turned and ran off.

"Get back here pup!" Connor said as he ran after the hatchling. Ignitus shook his head and grabbed the cleaning supplies before trotting after the both of them, his wound preventing anything faster than a trot. But his trot was as fast as the wolf's running. They chased Syra until they were out of the cave. Ignitus tossed the cleaning supplies to Connor and flew off. Connor had removed his harness and coat earlier, and was now in his traveling pants and plain shirt. Ignitus took off into the sky, easily catching up with Syra and picking her up. Connor ran along beneath the red dragon. Ignitus landed at the banks of the Silver River. When Connor arrived, he removed his shirt and dive straight into the river. Ignitus tossed Syra into the river, Connor leaping up and grabbing the hatchling. Syra squalled and twisted in his grip, but Connor didn't let go.

He sat down in the water, reaching out and grabbing the block of soap and rubbing it up and down her head, neck, sides and back. Syra squirmed even more as he grabbed the sponge and started to scrub the dirt and mud away from her scales.

"The water's cold!" Syra yelled at Connor as he used the water basin to dump a large amount of water on her head. He had one of his arms wrapped around her shoulder as he grabbed the sponge again and rubbed the suds all over her scales.

"I'm the one with fur." He said as he grabbed the scented oil and dumped it on Syra's head.

"Argh! It's in my eyes!" She yelled. Connor's only reply was to splash water in her face. "Well, that helped." Syra said, not happy at all. When he had gotten rid of all the mud, and gained a lot of scratches, he tossed Syra onto land. Ignitus caught her in the drying rag and started to rub her vigorously. She squealed again as she was dried, complaining loudly. When he was done, Ignitus began to apply the polish to her scales. It was then Connor and Ignitus noticed a dragonfly that was watching them. The dragonfly had a basket with many different colored ribbons in it. Connor smiled.

"Can I have a few of those?"

≤Ω≥

When Dimitri and Sparx got back, they almost burst out laughing at what they saw. Syra was sitting in the cave, her shoulders hunched and her head held low. All the mud, dirt, and blood were gone. Her obsidian scales shown through now, the streaks of red and orange standing in contrast the black and shining as well. Her underbelly, horns, tail blade, and wings looked like they were made of actual gold. She two pink bows on, one tied around her neck and one tied to one of her horns. She looked at Dimitri and said, "I. Hate. Ignitus." Dimitri just chuckled a little, but Sparx burst out laughing.

"Aww… Who's the cute little baby girl? You're so adorable!" He said condescendingly. Syra snarled and snapped at him. Sparx yelped and flew behind Dimitri's horn. Once more, Dimitri chuckled.

"Don't listen to him," Dimitri said as he stepped up. "You really do look cute. You should try to a ten-year old, not an elder." He said with a kind smile. Syra just had to smile back, and she did. "There's that smile!" Dimitri said as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Now you act like a twelve year-old and play tag with me!" Syra said as she batted his arm and ran away. Dimitri smiled and trotted after her. _So this is what it is like o have a friend._ Is what they both thought.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I had a busy schedule. Here you go!**


	11. The Albinos

**A/N: I seemed to make another mistake. If you have been reading, then you have noticed that there is a dragon by the name of 'Angle', well her name is supposed to be 'Angel', makes much more sense like that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Ten: The Albinos

Dimitri, Syra, and Sparx all sat in a small carriage pulled by very large horses and driven by a mole. Dimitri remembered that the carriage driver had called the horses 'draft horses', but that mattered little. Dimitri left his armor behind, the set would've stuck out too much, and the sound would have set off any nearby apes. He only had his blade-sheath, which was the leather sheath and metal blade that was strapped to his hind-quarter. Blade sheaths were hollow blades that were fashioned to fit over a dragon's tail spade. Most dragons considered them impractical, despite the fact that they were extremely dangerous, mostly because of the expensive and long process that it take to make them. Plus the fact that a dragon would most likely grow out of the blade-sheath just adds to the dislike of them. But to the Knights of Warfang, blade-sheaves were both a mark of their knightly status, as well as invaluable tools and weapons. The Knights blade-sheaves were enchanted to follow the growth of the owner, so that way they will never outgrow the blade sheath.

Dimitri laid down on his side, his forepaws folded neatly in front of him and his hind legs splayed out to the side; his wings were held formally against his side. Syra was napping, her back pressed against his side and her head twisted around to use his shoulder as a pillow. She held Sparx like he was a teddy bear with her arms cross over the little dragonfly. Dimitri had learned that Syra, when sleeping, likes to have something to grab and something to rest her head on. Since there were on pillows on the carriage, she used the closest things possible, Dimitri and Sparx. Sure, they protested, but Sparx couldn't quite fight back against the much larger dragon, and Dimitri wouldn't use force to remove a young female such as Syra. So she just napped as he went over all he knew about the Crags; not much.

Last he had heard was that apes were crawling all over the Crags. The panthers that had lived there had made an agreement and joined the Dark Armies, but the apes still manned the area due to the mutual distrust between Spyro and the Panther chieftains. But Dimitri and Ignitus had been away from any reliable intel for a long time. He sighed as he went over what he had been told by Syra. She had told him that there was only a one place that they could hold a dragon, but she didn't say where, only that panthers could open it. Or knew how to open, she didn't specify that. Not much and it meant they either had to kidnap a panther, or sway one their way.

Once more he looked at the hatchling that was using him as a pillow. _How can she display an unnatural control of her elements, and then throw a fit about having to take a bath? _He thought to himself. It was strange, that such a young hatchling could easily act her age, or her age plus twenty. Right now, she had a peaceful look on her face, enjoying her nap very much. Every now and then, she would snuggle her head closer to the crook of his neck and coo happily. Dimitri sighed. He wished that this female didn't grow too attached to him. Knights weren't really supposed to have friends outside of the Knights of Warfang. _I hope that I don't get too attached._ He thought to himself. That was one of the reasons that Dimitri didn't like being a knight sometimes. He knew that if it came down to Syra's life, or the lives or several dragons from Warfang, he would have to choose the civilians. He hoped that if he was forced to make that choice, he would choose the rightly.

After a few hours of sitting in the carriage, Syra finally woke up. She picked her head up from Dimitri's shoulder and let out a yawn that revealed her pearly teeth. She yawned again, but a smaller yawn this time. She released Sparx, who yelled, "Freedom!" and then rolled onto her other side so she could speak with Dimitri.

"So, what do you know about the Crags?" She asked as she stared at Dimitri questioningly. Dimitri relayed back all of the info that he had. She chuckled. "You have been out of touch with the world for a long time, haven't you?" She asked redundantly. Sparx snorted.

"You're one to talk. I bet you don't even know what the Crags are!" Sparx challenged, while Syra rolled her eyes.

"The Crags is desolate area by a small desert. It is the home of the Panther tribes. They are not as skilled as fast as cheetahs, or as strong as wolves, but they will always find a way to survive." She said firmly. Sparx just stared at her.

"You could've gotten that anywhere." Sparx said. Syra just gave her signature smug grin, the one that seemed to say 'you think I know nothing, but I really know more than all of you.'

"The panthers have recently joined forces with Spyro and Cynder, more with Spyro though. By what you told me, you are working off of old intel. Right now, most all of the apes have left the Crags. A few commanders are still there, but they are more of a formality than anything else really. Spyro's personal general and bodyguard, Aiden, regularly travels there. In fact, lucky for us, our visit should coincide with his. Yippee..." Syra said, her last sentence dripping with sarcasm. "Traveling through the Crags silently should be easy enough. Right now, an army of panthers are on their way to Concurrent Skies, so few soldiers should be there. A few of the chieftains elected to stay behind to watch after their tribes. This only presents a minor problem. Although, the small band of albino mercenaries creeping up on the Crags should be able to give some help."

Dimitri stared at the dragoness. "Where did you learn all that?" He asked. Originally, he was skeptical about Syra's report, but when she mentioned the albino mercenaries, the same ones that he, Iedus, and Ignitus had hired to scout out the Crags, he was now curious.

"Learned it all from the source." She stated smugly. "You have talked to the mercenaries yourself?" Dimitri asked. Now that, he doubted. She looked at him with her signature grin, still saying 'I know more then you, I know more than you!' in a sing-song voice. "No, I mean I learned it from Concurrent Skies. I am going to take another nap now." Syra said as Dimitri's eyes widened. She rolled over towards him, snatching Sparx out of the air along the way. Syra settled the position she had taken earlier, her back pressed against Dimitri's side with her head resting on his shoulder, before he could ask any questions, her paw shot up and grabbed his muzzle.

"Don't say anything." She held onto his muzzle and kept him quiet. Dimitri just submitted, knowing that he will never sway this stubborn hatchling. Instead, he dropped his muzzle down to his paws, closed his eyes, and hoped that he could sleep.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri was woken by a dull thump and a loud whiny. He snapped his head up, only to find that Syra had rolled over and now stood in a defensive crouch. He motioned for Syra to stay put as he walked out of the small carriage. Since they were a few miles away from the Crags, the ground had turned dusty and the sun burned all who stood under it. As soon as he was out, he walked around to the front only to find that the mole driver now had an arrow through his throat. He twisted around and raised his wing, using the motion to create a thin wall of ice that was then shattered by another arrow. There was the sound of a commanding officer's voice then a battle scream as a two dozen panthers charged from either side of the road. Dimitri cursed as a panther launched himself at Dimitri.

The ice dragon took a step forward and slammed the front of his horns against the panther's chest. He then stepped to the side and spun to face another panther, his tail flicking behind him and lodging the spade in the first panther's throat. Dimitri reared and quickly raked his claws against another panther's chest, then spun around and let out a large burst of ice. The ice flew out of his mouth like shards of broken glass, cutting and lodging into the panther's flesh. They all began to swarm him now. He jumped back to avoid the swing of a sword, only to have the pommel of another slam into his back. Dimitri spun around, coating his tail with many spikes made of ice and flinging them as he spun. Now facing the panther that had hit his back, Dimitri dropped his head and rammed his horns into the panther's chest before he pulled them out. He lashed out with his claws at another panther's knee, causing the panther to fall over. Dimitri then leapt onto the panther and jabbed his claws into the panther's throat. Dimitri felt a boot slam against his side. He rolled away from it, but mid role someone stepped on his back. They delivered a stomp to the side of his face. And another, and another, until Dimitri's vision was fading.

A large panther, presumably the leader, pushed his way through the crowd until he stood over Dimitri. He raised his sword to stab the fallen knight, but something stopped him. He looked up, but before he could move, a dragon landed on him, crushing the panther. This dragon wore a tattered brown cloak, concealing his scales. But his identity was revealed as the two blades slid out from between his knuckles.

"Talos?" Dimitri asked. He had heard of Talos; the leader of the Albino Mercenaries, famous for his metallic blades and four wings, Talos was possibly the most dangerous albino in existence, he had severely mauled a dragon one day which caused him to run away from his home. One thing Dimitri wasn't so sure about was how the massive albino's blades and spikes seemed to be made of metal. The cloaked dragon didn't pay him any mind. Instead, he let out a roar as several more dragons landed, each having pearly white scales or creamy colored scales. The all had pure red eyes; all of them Albino Mercenaries. Two were wearing leather armor that covered their chests, limbs, and necks. One wore heavy metal armor that covered his scales, while the last wore plate-and-mail-armor. Talos was the first to attack, leaping forward and shearing a panther in two before twisting around and slamming his tail spade, which for some reason was a cluster of metal spikes, into another panther's chest. The other dragons leapt into battle, one of them grabbing Dimitri and dragging him away from the carriage before leaping back into the fray.

Five dragons were more than enough to take on the panthers. After the fighting was over, and the bodies were moved, Talos walked over to Dimitri, who was struggling to stand. He was knocked over again by Syra, who jumped out of the carriage and rammed into Dimitri. She stood up and stared down Talos as the larger dragon walked to them.

"Well, what do we have here then?" He asked as he looked down at the two smaller dragons. He had removed his hood, revealing his chalk white scales. He had two horns that start from his forehead and ended in two points that curl upwards, a natural head guard that was clearly very useful for head butts. His tail, which instead of having a tail blade or mace, had a cluster of razor sharp spikes. On the outer sides of his forearms were several spikes extending past his elbows, as well as the two blades that slid back between his knuckles until only the tips showed. Instead of the traditional red irises that albinos usually have, Talos' eyes were silver, another abnormality that marked him. In addition to his normal wings he had a secondary pair of wings lower down his back, he folded these secondary wings over his primary ones, evidently he had no problem with what he was. Like all albinos, he was smaller and thinner than the average sized dragon. But like most Albino Mercenaries, his thin frame had a wiry musculature to it.

"I could ask the same thing." Syra said as she stretched her neck to stare at Talos. He regarded the small dragoness before turning to Dimitri and seeing the tattoo on his arm.

"You, you're a knight." Talos stated as he now looked at Dimitri.

"That is true. We have come here because we have reason to believe that the guardian of wind, Angel, is here." Dimitri stated as he stood and rubbed his temple, the spot that had been stomped on. Talos nodded.

"Aye, she is here. Not only her, but another female you should be acquainted with." Talos said as another mercenary walked over and dropped off several gems. "Heal up. We'll be leaving for our camp soon." Talos tossed over his shoulder as Dimitri absorbed the gems. He stood up and rolled his shoulders before spreading his wings and crouching to take off. He heard Syra gently cough in her throat. He looked over to her, and she was flexing her wings meaningfully. "Oh." He said as he remembered that Syra couldn't fly yet.

"Talos!" he called to the albino. "My friend, Syra can't fly yet. Would you mind too much to have one of your soldiers carry her?" Dimitri asked politely. Before Talos could answer, Syra said, "No, he won't." and jumped onto the closest mercenary's back. The mercenary just grunted at the unexpected weight. They all took off then.

"Who is 'Talos', anyway?" Syra asked as they were flying. It was the dragon she was riding that answered her.

"Talos is the leader of the Albino Mercenaries corp. The only one that can beat him in a fight is Plymouth Dodger!" At the name 'Plymouth' Dimitri stiffened a bit, but no one noticed.

"Great, another name I don't know!" Syra exclaimed as she smacked the back of the albino's head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked.

"For assuming that I knew who this so called Plymouth Dodger is!" Syra said sternly. "Now explain who he is." She commanded.

"The second-in-command. They say his real name is 'Plymouth Reznov', but everyone knows him as 'Dodger' because he dodges everything thrown his way." The albino explained. A few minutes passed before Sparx spoke up.

"Yet another brilliant adventure, glory awaits!" He stated as he stared humming. Sparx was flying by Dimitri's head.

"Is he usually this peppy?" Syra tossed over the wind to Dimitri.

"No, and I'm slightly worried that he is now." Dimitri stated as he looked at the dragonfly.

"Leave it to me; I have experience in this field." She said as she made the albino she was riding fly closer to Dimitri and Sparx. She started to sing.

"Bravely bold Sir Sparx, rode forth from Warfang, he was not afraid to die oh brave Sir Sparx, he was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Sparx." She sang, only bolstering Sparx's ego. But her smile turned evil as she continued.

"He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken. To have his wings split and his body burned away, and limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Sparx." Now Sparx was trying not to throw up, while Dimitri was trying not to laugh. The albinos showed no such restraint, and began to vocalize along with Syra as she drove her verbal dagger deeper. Even Talos was smiling.

"His head smashed in and his heart cut out and liver removed and his bowels unplugged and his nostrils ripped and his backside burned up and his antennae-" She was cut off by Sparx yelling, "NO!" as he grabbed his antennae and pulled them over his ears and flew behind Dimitri's horns. "My work here is done." She said with a smug smile. Sparx shuddered and Dimitri let a chuckle escape.

≤Ω≥

When they were only an hour away from the Crags, the albinos landed. There were bed rolls set up around a shouldering camp fire as well as a familiar face for Dimitri. Lying at the camp was a grey-blue dragoness, with purplish wing membranes, under-bell, and tail spade. Her tail spade was two curved blades that met up and firmed a tip, and left the middle empty. Her horns started at the crown of her forehead and traveled over the top of her head till the tips pointed down over her head, much like Dimitri's. There was a pile of neatly placed armor by her side, a leather case shaped to her tail spade strapped to her hind-quarter, as well as a small, black tattoo of a heavily armored dragon mid-way down her back. Eight scars marked the inside of her right forearm, all of them uniform and right next to each other.

"Lady Sarah!" Dimitri called as he landed. When he landed, he did the dragons' version if a bow. He bent his forelegs, bringing his chest closer to the ground, brought his right wing around so that it was in front of his chest. His left wing went straight and up while his head bowed. "It is well to my hope that I can see you again." Dimitri stated as he stood up and faced the larger dragoness. Syra cut in, not by saying anything, but by jumping off of the albino she was riding and landing on Dimitri's back. After she stepped off of Dimitri, she turned to Sarah.

"Who are you?" Syra asked the larger dragoness, not a shred of respect in her voice. Sarah smiled at the hatchling.

"I am Lady Sarah, the Warfang Knight of Ice." She answered. Syra looked confused.

"I thought Dimitri was the ice knight-thing-bobber or whatever." Syra stated as Dimitri stood.

"She is the _female_ Knight of Ice. I am the male Knight." Dimitri said as he took a step towards Sarah. "Male apprentice; I never knew you to be prideful, Dimitri." Sarah stated with a motherly smile on her lips. Dimitri's once cheery face was now gone as he remembered he had to tell Sarah of his late-master's fate.

"Sarah, my proper title now is _Sir_ Dimitri." Dimitri said stiffly, doing very well at keeping his sadness out of his voice.

"Do you mean that...? Iedus, is he...?" Sarah tried to ask, not wanting to believe that Iedus was dead. Even though Iedus was only a few years older than Sarah, he was like a father to the female Knight. Dimitri only nodded. She leaned forward and entrapped Dimitri in a caring hug. "It must be hard on you." She whispered into his ear quietly, setting down the young knight.

Talos had landed by then, to everyone's surprise he landed heavily with a dull thud. He looked at the scene, coughing in his throat. "I am saddened by his death. And whoever killed him... best not mentioned really." He said awkwardly. He was obviously not used to having to say something about a dead friend, and clearly the fate he planned for Iedus' killer was quite unspeakable. Syra scrunched her face up at him.

"Is that the best you got?" She asked as she looked at the larger albino dragon. Talos ignored her as he continued speaking. "Right now is not the time to mourn, he would agree. We have food to eat, business in the morning, and Angel to save." With that, the other albinos started to carve the antelopes that they had caught earlier. After everyone had eaten their fill, they all laid down to sleep. Except for Dimitri.

"Talos." He said in a harsh whisper to the sleeping dragon. "Business is in the morning. Go to sleep." Talos grumbled.

"This cannot be discussed in the morning. It is important." Dimitri insisted. Talos only said, "Oh, fine." and stood up, following Dimitri a little bit away from the camp.

"What is it?" Talos asked grumpily, although deep down he was curious about Dimitri's behavior.

"I am looking for Plymouth 'Dodger' Reznov."

"Why?"

"Iedus told me to find him, he is my father."

**A/N: Talos does not belong to me, he belongs to my beta, Dragon. of. Chaos97. If you don't know who Talos is, read 'the pale dragon', which was written by my beta.**

**REVIEW GOSH DANGIT!**


	12. The Business

**A/N: Hello. To all of my readers, I have a request. One of my friends, Unit Omicron, thinks that he is a bad writer. If you have read his story, 'The Spyro and Cynder Adventures: Eternal Slumber', you know that that isn't true. So for all of you that haven't read it yet, read it, and tell him how wrong he is via reviews. Unit, if you are reading this, then I have one thing to say, trololololol.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise or Talos, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Eleven: The Business

"Plymouth, is your father?" Talos asked. Talos wasn't surprised by much, but this surprised him. Not that a Knight of Warfang was searching for his father, but the fact that it was his friend who was supposedly this knight's father.

"I am only saying what Iedus told me. And that was to find Plymouth, for he is both my father and the one to train me further." Dimitri stated as he stared down the larger dragon. "I did not mean to offend him. What can you tell me about him, anything that might prove that I am his son?"

Talos thought for a bit. "He once mentioned having a girl. He never told me her name, or her element, or even what color her horns were. They broke it off a _long_ time ago."

"How long ago?"

"About ten, twelve years ago. Oh…" Talos said as he remembered that Dimitri was twelve. A smile, hidden from Dimitri, twitched in the corner of Talos' mouth. _'One mystery that was bugging me_ _solved.'_

"What can you tell me?" Dimitri asked. He never longed to know his father before, but now that the information was within his grasp, he had to reach for it.

Talos shifted through his memories a bit "One night, Plymouth came back to the base a bit more down than usual. It took a couple of drinks, strong ones mind you, but he finally started talking. He said that he had taken a trip to his girl, thinking that she would be glad to see him. He had been thought dead for about a month before this. When he got there, she was surprised. Plymouth said that she cried when she told him that she had given the eggs she had lain, two of em', to the orphanage, thinking that he was dead. When he got to the orphanage, he tried to reclaim them, but the workers wouldn't release an egg to an albino, and that fact that he was a well known mercenary didn't help either. They told him to come back in the morning and reserve the hatchlings in the eggs."

"Reserve the eggs?" Dimitri questioned. He wasn't quite familiar with how the orphanages worked.

"You can reserve eggs at orphanages. It's just like adopting the egg, but you don't get the hatchling until it is hatched. Now stop interrupting." Talos said as he cast a certain look at Dimitri that made even the knight cringe. "Now, Plymouth said that all of that happened the night before. He said that when he went back next morning, one of his eggs had been sent to another orphanage. He reserved his remaining egg and fell off the map for a few months. I assumed that he was searching for the second egg. When he came back, you had hatched and no one at the orphanage would tell him what happened to you, just to spite him." Talos growled as the memory of his friend entered his mind. "He never had a chance to question further, because for the next year we were sent on constant missions. Eventually, Plymouth pushed the memory of the children out of his mind and moved on. But he still whispers their full names, what they would have been if they had been his."

Dimitri was shocked. Not only did his father care deeply for a son he never met, but he had a brother! "What was he going to name me and my brother?" Dimitri asked. Talos looked at him.

"The names he recites are 'Dimitri Yuri Reznov', and 'Makarov Dragovich Reznov'. He said that Dimitri would go to the egg that stayed in Warfang, and Makarov would go to the egg that was shipped off." Talos said as he turned back towards the camp. "Get some sleep. We will discuss this in the morning."

"Wait!" Dimitri said as he stepped forward again. "Please, do not tell the others of our conversation. I would not like them to think of me as disgraceful."

"On one condition."

"What is that?"

"I know a bit about the traditions of the knights of Warfang, and one of them is to always call a deceased knight _Sir_ so-so, or _Lady_ so-so, unless they had been dishonored in some way. This is my question." Talos bent his head to look at Dimitri. "Why haven't you called him _Sir_ Iedus?"

Dimitri's face hardened. "That will be discussed tomorrow." He stated as he briskly walked in front of Talos and into the light of the dying camp fire. He noted that Syra was lying across one of the albino's neck, her arms wrapped around his horn and her cheek pressed against the horn. Dimitri shook his head and laid down on one of the mats that Sarah had donated to them all. As soon as he lay down, Sparx came up and lighted on Dimitri's head, quickly falling asleep.

≤Ω≥

Syra stretched and yawned as she got up. She slid down the albino that she was lying on. She saw Dimitri sprawled across the ground. Smiling deviously, she slunk over to the resting ice dragon. When she was over the top of him, she was about to do her dastardly prank.

"Good morning, young one. And what are you planning to do?" The voice of Sarah came. Syra bolted her head up and looked at the larger knight. Sarah was curled up in the shade of a withered tree. She had a playful and motherly smile on her lips as she said to Syra "Go back to sleep. It is too early for you to be up." Syra raised an eyebrow. Syra walked forward and leapt on Sarah's tail and gripped it, resting her head against the tail spade. Sarah looked at the strange dragon. "Do you always have to hold something when you sleep?" Sarah asked. "It is psychological." Syra stated as she fell asleep again. Sarah shook her head and went back to sleep.

Syra was roused again, this time against her will. "What do you want?" Syra asked as she picked up her head. She saw that Sarah was prodding her side in an attempt to wake the hatchling. Syra stared at the older ice dragoness. "I am going back to sleep." Syra said as she rested her head back on Sarah's tail spade. In response to this, Sarah picked her tail up from the ground, but Syra didn't let go. "I am going to sleep!" Syra said with her eyes still clenched and hanging upside down. Sarah sighed and gave her tail a gentle shake, dislodging the small hatchling. Syra let a small squeal and twisted in the air, land on her feet without making a sound; a shocking display of grace from the young hatchling.

Syra tossed her head at the knight and walked over to a pile of freshly killed antelope lay. Not pausing in her stride, Syra used her tail spade to slice off a chunk of meat, one that was nice and fatty, skewering it on her tail spade and holding it up over the dirt. Finding a nice, warm rock to lay on, she curled on it and began to eat. Used to having to eat as proper as possible, something that she hated, Syra wasted no time in just gorging into the juicy slab of meat. She had always had her food drained of the blood and fat, frozen and thawed; enough to keep her alive, but not enough to keep her in a healthy weight. She was told that she could eat well if she could sneak out of her cell, steal food from the kitchens, and get back to her cell without being noticed. Easier said than done.

But this was the first time she had real, raw, fresh meat since she had escaped. And it was delicious! She wasted no time quickly began to take large bites out of the chunk of meat in front of her. She stopped when she felt a gentle bump against the back of her head. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get her attention. Syra looked to see Sarah eyeing her.

"What?" Syra said through a mouthful of food. Sarah gave her an unhappy look.

"Swallow your food before you speak." She said, her tone making it sound like a command, and not a suggestion. Syra rolled her eyes and swallowed.

"Now, what?" Syra asked once again. Sarah gave her that same unhappy look.

"You shouldn't take such big bites. You might choke." Sarah said, sounding a bit worried. Syra rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Syra muttered as she went back to eating. After she was done, she walked over the deer body. Dimitri was still sleeping, strangely. With a devious smile on her lips, she snuck over to the pile of antelope, a few of the animals still in a pile. Using her tail spade, she sliced off a piece of meat, only to throw it at Dimitri's face. The piece of meat smack against Dimitri's face and made a loud, meaty smacking sound. Dimitri bolted up, and the albino's laughed.

"Oh, ha-ha, now he doesn't have to get his own food." Sparx sarcastically said as he floated over the ice dragons head. Dimitri's normally white face was now dyed red with the blood of the meat. Dimitri said nothing as he started to eat his food, his mind on other matters.

"Syra, you should apologize for that." Syra gritted her teeth as she heard the motherly voice of Sarah.

"No, I am not going to apologize for that _Mom._" Syra said condescendingly.

"You shouldn't take a tone like that with your elders." Sarah said with a frown. Syra clutched her head and let out a loud groan.

"Why is she such a mom?" Syra asked as she looked over to Dimitri.

"She has always been like that; quite the mother for everyone." Dimitri stated as he began to eat the piece of meat. "Thanks for the meat, by the way."

"No problem, it was fun to throw it at your face." Syra said as she flicked his nose. Talos now came out of the small command tent in the center of the camp.

"Dimitri! Sarah! We have business to discuss." Talos stated as he went back into the tent. Dimitri, Syra, and Sarah all stood and walked towards the command tent. "Syra, what are doing?" Dimitri asked as he realized that the black hatchling was still by his side. 'I am going to the meeting with you." Dimitri raised a scaly brow.

"Syra, the meeting is not for you." Dimitri stated as he nudged her back towards the albinos. "Go, get to know the soldiers. They will have your back during our stint in the Crags." Dimitri suggested. Syra shook her head. "Like I am going to be in the dark about this; that is not going to happen." Syra stated as she pushed past Dimitri and walked into the tent. Talos stared down at the hatchling with a raised eyebrow.

"Not happening." he said. Without warning, he picked her up and threw out of the tent. Syra squealed and instinctively spread her wings. It helped to flip over to her back, hit the ground on her back, and roll to her feet. She looked in anger as Dimitri froze the tent flaps together, in order to keep her out.

"You think that is going to stop me?" She grumbled as she walked over to the tent. Syra prepared to use her fire breath, but when she open her maw and let it out, a burst of shadow fire came instead. Seizing the opportunity, she took control of the shadow and pressed it against the wall of ice. Shadow dragons could only shift through places that were covered by shadows and out of places that were covered by shadows. But the most skilled could shift through any place by pressing their shadow fire against what they were planning on shifting through. This would either work, or cause the shadow dragon to be affected by its own shadow fire and die slowly.

Pushing her paw on the shadow covered wall of ice, she slipped through the wall, dragging the shadows with her as she passed through the barrier; when she slipped into the tent, the shadows that she had dragged with her covered her and concealed her from view. She was invisible as long as she was in the dark, so she was thankful that the one lantern that cast long shadows all over the tent. Dimitri, Sarah, and Talos were all huddled around a map that sat on a table. Sneaking over to the map, she took a peek, already knowing what she would see.

The map had all of the territories that belonged the Dragon Realms marked out. A small blue tower sat on the territories that belong to the Guardian's Army. The territories that were conquered by the Dark Armies had a black or purple tower on them; a black tower for the lands that Cynder had conquered, and a purple one for the lands that Spyro had conquered. There were only four blue towers on the map, one on Warfang, Tall Planes, the Shattered Vale, and the swamp where the Dragon Temple is. There was also a grey tower on a small island off the coast of Dante's Freezer.

"The map needs to be updated." Dimitri said as he moved to the table. "We have lost Warfang, Tall Planes, and the Temple to Spyro and Cynder." Dimitri said as he picked the blue towers off of the map and replaced them with black and purple towers. Sarah face dropped.

"But we still have the guardians!" Sarah exclaimed as her face brightened. "They can inspire hope in all!" Dimitri shook his head.

"They have all been captured, and Ignitus has fallen into a depressed state. The guardians are of no help." Dimitri stated sadly.

"But that would mean that we only have the Shattered Vale left! And the only people there are civilians!" Sarah exclaimed.

"And would stop Spyro and Cynder from attacking the Shattered Vale and laying waste to the innocents in the city?" Talos asked coldly. "A complete and total surrender."

"So we have basically lost the war?" Sarah asked, her face dropping once more.

"That is what it seems to be." Dimitri stated sadly. Talos scoffed as he stared at the two knights. "Well, I am _not _going to roll over and die like that." Talos said with what could either be great bravery or great stubbornness in his voice. "I never said that." Dimitri said as he too snarled. "_We are_ going to free Angel, and then that will knock Ignitus out of his stupor. _We will _free the other guardians. _ And we will_ not lose." Dimitri stated with a determined look on his face.

The rest of the meeting was boring in Syra's eyes. She even dozed off a few times. "That appears to be all. Meeting adjourned." Sarah said as she made her way to the tent flap. For someone who seemed quite clumsy during flight Talos moved fast, his paw flashed and was now stopping Dimitri from leaving. "Dimitri, before we all go, you have something to tell me." Talos stated as he looked meaningfully at the young ice knight. Dimitri's face hardened. "Sir, I would rather that for another time." Dimitri stated as he stared ahead.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked as she turned around to look at the two white dragons. "You said you would tell me, it might as well be away from other ears, and Sarah deserves to know." Talos said once again. "I _order _you to tell me." Talos stated once more. Dimitri relented.

"Yes sir. You might want to take a seat. The story is a long one. It details Iedus' death. The temple had just fallen, and Iedus sent me ahead to drop a wounded Ignitus off at a cave system we had found some time ago. Ignitus told me to go back to the temple and help Iedus..."

**A/N: And I leave you like that! HA! That mist stink. But it gives you incentive to come back next week. I won't lie to any of you; the sudden end is my own fault. I was going to expand into Iedus' death, but I had little time to write this week, so be glad this update is on time. Remember; check out Unit Omicron's story. It is pretty dang cool. And that is that. If you miss the obvious reference in this chapter, you stink.**


	13. The Crags

**A/N: I thought that I should remind you, Dimitri speaks with a Russian accent, and Connor speaks with an Irish one.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise or Talos, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Twelve: The Crags

_ Iedus had just pulled his tail spade out of the chest of an ape leader. The blade-sheath made the icicle shape of his tail spade a deadly stabbing weapon. Another ape commander charged at Iedus. Iedus spun around and released the magic that held his blade sheath on his tail spade and sent it flying into the ape's chest. He then stepped up to the ape, slipped his tail spade back into the blade-sheath, lifted up the ape commander and slammed him back into the ground with a loud crunch._

_ "Lyn is gone." He told himself as fifteen apes entered; ten soldiers, three leaders, and one commander. "And I feel like my heart is missing," Iedus said as he launched himself at the apes. "I will fight like a have no heart." He stated as he whipped his tail around and slammed it against a soldier hard enough to break all of his ribs. Twisting around, he let out a blast of ice, the ice freezing the apes behind. With a flap of his wings, he moved and crushed the frozen apes. That was ten already dead, six soldiers, three leaders, and the commander. The remaining apes looked up at Iedus and bared their weapons._

_ "Stand down." At the command the apes instantly lowered their weapons and took several steps back. Iedus turned around, his armor clinking when he moved. Now entering the room was Spyro. The dark purple dragon seemed amused as he strolled in. His hide was dotted with scratches and bruises, but probably nowhere near the amount that the guardians had on them. Blood dripped from his metal tail blade as he stared at Iedus. "You know, that one female, Lyn was her name I think, spoke highly of you." Spyro said as he began to circle Iedus. Iedus was struggling to keep his emotions in check. "You know, she told me, and I quote, that if I had a shred of dignity in my black shriveled heart, I would deliver a message to you. Of course, this was before I tore out her stomach and left her to die in the mud like the animal she was." As Spyro finished the sentence, Iedus launched at him with a savage roar. Spyro sidestepped and slammed the flat if his tail blade in to Iedus' helmet, causing a loud ringing noise to spread out._

_ Iedus rose, ignoring the slight headache that was just given to him. "You killed Lyn. She didn't deserve that!" He yelled as he dropped his head and charged Spyro. Spyro once more dodged to the side, but this time he grabbed hold of Iedus' head and slammed Iedus' jaw into the ground. Spyro then picked his paw up and placed it on Iedus' back, pressing down with all of his weight._

_ "Do you want to know what her message was?" Spyro asked as he lent forward and ripped off the armor that covered the back of Iedus' neck. All the while, Iedus was thrashing against the weight on his back. "She said that she _loved_ you." Spyro sneered condescendingly as he raised his tail blade and placed the tip on Iedus neck. After hearing Lyn's last words, Iedus ceased his struggling. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold metal tip press against his neck. _I will see you soon Lyn, my love._ Iedus thought to himself as he waited for the final blow to come. "So I decided, that letting you live without her would be as good as killing you." Spyro said as he removed his tail blade from Iedus' neck and stepped off of him._

_ "What?" Iedus questioned as he tried to stand, but a quick command from Spyro sent the apes charging at Iedus and beating him back to the ground. "I am smart enough to know that you would only welcome death. So to kill your spirit, I must let you live." Spyro stated as he walked away. "And by the way, her tattoo, on her rump? She must have been quite the wh-" Before Spyro could finish, Iedus roared. He tossed all of the apes aside as he leapt at Spyro, murder in his eyes. Spyro whipped around and raised his hand, a gauntlet of ice forming around his hand and a large blade growing from the gauntlet; a blade that would impale Iedus. But before it could stab Iedus, the gauntlet and blade melted and was pushed into Spyro's paw, freezing it solid. A spinning blade of ice came out of the shadows, one that was launched by Dimitri as he walked out if the shadows. The blade flew and collided with Spyro's wrist, cutting off his paw. Spyro stared in shock at the bleeding stump, and was too distracted to dodge as Iedus slammed against him. Spyro was pinned on his back as Iedus grabbed his horns, raised Spyro's head, and slam Spyro's head against the stone ground. He began to do this, over and over again. All that Iedus could see was red._

_ Spyro thrust his still remaining paw into Iedus face and shoved the knight off of him. He delivered a quick stomp to Iedus throat and kept the knight on the ground by placing his good paw on Iedus' chest. "Detain the hatchling!" Spyro yelled as the apes started to fight with Dimitri. It cost a few lives, but the remaining two apes pinned the young ice dragon and held him with his chest pressed against the ground. "Kill him." Spyro said coldly as he stared down at Iedus._

_ "So you lost your hand, to a hatchling! I thought you were tougher than that." Iedus stated as he laughed. Spyro stared at the knight. "Forget that command. Make the young dragon watch." Spyro now stood over Iedus, tearing off the knight's helmet, his paws placed on Iedus' and pinning the ice dragon to the ground. "Let's start with something simple. Ice." Slowly, ice began to creep down Spyro's missing hand. Iedus began to stiffen as the ice crept onto his limb and spread slowly. "I see that it burns, but not enough. You are used to the chill of the ice." Spyro said as green earth energy began to pulsate around his other forepaw. Shards of earth began to arch over Iedus' foreleg. When the shards covered all of Iedus foreleg, they all slammed down into the ground, crushing Iedus foreleg with a sickening crunch and crack. Iedus tossed his head back and let out a pained scream. Blood leaked out from Iedus arm, and the shattered bones dug into his limb and sent lances of pain through the foreleg._

_ "Iedus!" Dimitri roared as he struggled against the apes standing on his back, but to no avail. "What's next?" Spyro sneered. "Oh yes; fire!" Spyro exclaimed as the element began to cover Iedus' hind leg. Iedus screams increased in pain and volume as his left hind leg began to wither underneath the flames. "And of course, the opposite of your own element will be the most painful; electricity!" As Spyro said this, electricity began to arch all around his right hind leg and jumped into Iedus limb. But before he could scream, Spyro breathed his shadow fire all over Iedus head. The muffled screams increased as the shadow fire burnt at Iedus face and clung to him._

_ "IEDUS!" Dimitri yelled again as he managed to toss the apes off and fling himself at Spyro. The large purple dragon flicked his tail and hacked it into Dimitri's chest. The blade went through the armor and dug into the young dragon's chest. Dimitri's breath left him as the cold blade touched his heart. After shaking Dimitri off of his tail blade, Spyro stepped off of Iedus and walked over to Dimitri. He looked down at Dimitri; raising a forepaw, he held it above the downed ice dragon. Bright, sickly green drops fell from his paw and onto Dimitri's open wound. The blood clotted as soon as the drops came into contact with the open wound and stopped the bleeding._

_ "Get this child some red gems." Spyro said as he walked back to Iedus. The shadow fire has since dissipated from Iedus face. "Now this child will remember how you died." Spyro said as he raised his tail blade and plunged it into Iedus' chest._

_ "You… are just… creating… a martyr." Iedus stated as Spyro pulled his blade out of Iedus' chest. Spyro smiled like the devil._

_ "And where would the fun be in without some challenge?" Spyro said as the apes came back with armfuls each of red gems. They tried pressing the gems against Dimitri, hoping the dragon would absorb the gems, and eventually, he did. The wound healed and blood returned to Dimitri's body. He gasped as his head shot back up, his eyes snapping open. Dimitri's breath was ragged as he rises to his feet. But a blow to the back of his head knocked him back to the ground. Before Spyro left, he lent down and picked his paw up, thawing it along the way._

_ "Well, so much for testing this on the apes." Spyro muttered to himself. He held his amputated paw to the stub where it used to be attached to. The paw was held in place by a small band of ice. "One of the examples of how the soul and the body are connected is a marionette doll. The handles are the soul, and the doll itself represents the body." Spyro explained as he sat on his haunches and focused on his still attached paw. "The strings represent the bond between the two. I believe that by cutting off my hand, you would have removed the dolls hand, but not the string or the handle. So if I do _this_, it might work."_

_ As Spyro was speaking, a ball of strange energy appeared in his palm. It was a perfect ball, but the left half was blacker then Dimitri had ever seen, and the right half looked like a white light had been pulled from the sun and placed in Spyro's hand! Dimitri stared in awe as Spyro pressed the ball of energy to his severed paw and the stump it used to be. The energy went into the hand and fused it back onto Spyro's foreleg, leaving a small line going all around Spyro's wrist. He moved his fingers around, pricked it, and smiled. "Works perfectly." Spyro said with a smile._

_ Dimitri was in awe. Spyro had just reattached his paw! Spyro walked away, the two remaining apes following him. "I would share my last words with Iedus, if I were you." Spyro tossed over his shoulder as he walked away. Realizing the wisdom in Spyro's words, Dimitri ran over to the dying form of Iedus._

≤Ω≥

"And Iedus died." Dimitri said as he finished his story. _He is hiding something, and Spyro finally succeeded._ Syra thought to herself.

"Sir Iedus and Lady Lyn? Having an affair? I know that they were close friends, but sir-, I mean Iedus was more of a knight then anyone. He always made sure that the other knights were as they should be." Talos stated, remembering that Iedus was no longer known as 'Sir Iedus'. "Maybe that is why." Dimitri suggested, "Maybe it was his way of justifying his affair; up keeping the other rules perfectly because he was breaking one so much." A silence fell between the three as they reflected on the new news, and Syra's interest was piqued.

"And you didn't to say something to him?" Sarah asked as she looked down sadly.

"He died before I could." Dimitri stated. _He is _definitely_ hiding something_. Syra thought to herself once more.

"Are you sure that he actually fused his hand back on?" Talos asked. Dimitri nodded. "In my traveling days, I saw many false miracles. What makes you sure that this isn't just another?" Talos now asked. Dimitri hesitated before answering.

"There is no evidence that suggest otherwise." Dimitri stated as he stared ahead. Deciding that this was a good time to reveal herself, Syra stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, that sounds like the Spyro I know; torturing someone to death because of an insult that was related to his pride." Syra stated as the shadows faded and she stepped into the light. Sarah had to take a double take, Talos stared at Syra, and Dimitri face palmed.

"How do you know Spyro?" Talos questioned.

"We used to be close." Syra answered with a smile on her face.

"How close?" Sarah asked this time.

"Close enough to be beaten." Syra stated as her smile broadened at seeing Sarah's face.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Talos stated.

"You poor child!" Sarah said as she took a step closer to Syra.

"No comforting or I will make you experience your greatest fear." Syra said as she turned to look at Sarah. "If I needed comforting, I would be with my friend, Terra, instead of being here, free." Her smiling face was replaced with a serious one, one that was replaced with a shocked one as she was picked up by Talos and thrown out of the tent like before. But this time she was caught by one of the albinos. Everyone stared at Talos._  
_

"She said she didn't want comfort, she didn't say anything about being thrown out." Dimitri wondered if this was Talos' version of a sense of humor.

≤Ω≥

They were all flying to the crags now. Syra was resting on the back of one of the albinos, the one who wore the heavy armor. Sarah had taken a message from Talos and was to get a group of Albino Mercenaries and take them to the Temple with the intention of retaking it. Dimitri flew by Talos and the two seemed to be talking to each other. Talos and Dimitri flew in front of Syra, the two albinos in leather armor on the left and right side of her, and the albino in plate-and-mail armor was behind her.

"My name is Noubell." Syra's head snapped to where the voice came from. It was the albino that wore the plate-and-mail armor. He motioned to the two albino dragons wearing the leather armor. "That is Collie and Border. They are twins." The twin albinos nodded back at Syra. "And the one you're riding is Brutus." Syra nodded. This time it was Collie who spoke, his accent tinged with a southern drawl.

"Noubell is the only one here who had a family! He was raised by nobles!" Collie exclaimed. Border smiled and tossed back with the same accent as his brother: "Ya, but Brutus has a wife!"

The albino, Brutus, smiled and said with an accent that reminded Syra of Connor's accent: "Aye, she is my joy. An air dragoness that has scales with the sheen of silver and the belly of the clouds. But it is my daughter that is my pride! She looks just like her mum, but with a fire in her soul that makes mine look like a wet coal." Brutus laughed again. "She will start courting when I get home. She already got her eye on a special male, one that has been her friend for the longest time, and all the males got an eye on her!"

"I know what you mean; I got a girl back at home. We're due to be mates." Noubell said with a dreamy look on his face. "You know, my mother always said that I would get myself killed in this business. Put up a big fuss whenever I left for a job. She finally accepted that I will always come back." Noubell finished.

"I wouldn't know what you're talking about." Collie called out. "Me and Collie have always had each other, and no one else." Border now spoke up. "Without my brother-"

"I wouldn't know what to do!" Border finished for Collie. They laughed and swatted at each other. Noubell shook his head with a smile, and Brutus seemed lost in thought.

"There it is! The Crags!" Border yelled. When Syra saw the Crags, her breath was taken away. Sure, her studies had covered the area, but it was nothing like seeing it in person!

The Crags is a strange place. Large triangular shaped rocks jutted out either strait up or at strange angles. These rocks rammed into each other, passed through each other, and went over each other and formed a tangle of arches and walkways Not only that, but a series of small canyons split under the strange rocks. The triangular rocks also jutted out of the canyon walls. Towards the center of the Crags, the rocks started to gradually get larger and larger, and more and more tangled. At the very center of the Crags was what seemed to be a tangle of small mountains.

"Where are they keeping Angel?" Dimitri asked, knocking Syra out of her reverie.

"That doesn't matter that much. Only a panther can get into there." Syra stated as they went down for a landing.

"What do you mean, 'only a panther can get it in there'?" Collie questioned as they finally found a clearing large enough for the dragons to land in.

"I know where she is, just not the secret entrance into that place." Syra answered as she began to lead the group to the location of the wind guardian.

"Why are we listening to a hatchling in the first place?" Border asked as they walked under the arches that the rocks created. The whole place was dark, shadows being cast be the rocks. "I feel _so_ powerful here." Syra said. "All of these shadows, I could go anywhere!" She looked hopefully at Dimitri. Dimitri sighed and said "Okay, just don't set yourself on fire." half serious and half joking.

Syra smiled and gently butted her head against Dimitri's, a sign of friendship and thanks. Smiling broadly, she began to shift through the shadows at a rapid pace, popping out of one place before jumping into another shadow and appearing somewhere else, then repeating the process. She led the group in this fashion, not tiring at all. "Should she be able to do that?" Noubell asked as Syra had her merry time shifting in and out of the shadows.

"Because of her element? Yes. Because of her age? Not at all." Dimitri answered. "Then how can she?" Noubell asked. Dimitri shook his head. "I have no idea whatsoever."

They had been walking for a bit. Border was starting to get restless. "When are we going to get there, captain?" He asked Talos. Talos cast a glance at Syra, who said, "Well, I think that this is a nice place to start." Syra said as she stopped walking.

"We can't be taking a break now Syra. We have to find Angel." Dimitri stated as he turned to look at Syra. Syra noticed that when Dimitri was doing nothing, he would slip his tail spade into the sheath on his hind-quarter, take out the blade-sheath, twirl it around a few times, then out it back; and he did this over and over in the space of a few seconds.

"I said a nice place to start, not stop." Syra said with a devilish smile on her face.

"What do you mean, lass?" Brutus asked.

"You know, I had expected at least one earth dragon to accompany us. He would've been able to the get us to Angel without me doing this." Syra explained, but the answer was not to Brutus' liking. "What do you mean, lass?" Brutus asked again.

"This." Syra said before she tossed back her head and let out a loud ear-piercing shriek. Talos wasted no time in clamping his paw around her muzzle. If looks could kill, there would be nothing alive in the Crags because of Talos.

"Foolish girl!" He whispered harshly as he used his free paw to pick her up and hold her at eye level.

"Captain Talos, I will ask that you put the youngling down." Dimitri said in a voice that belonged to a law keeper.

"She could have alerted all of the panthers in the area." Talos tossed back as he complied none too gently.

"Ummm, Captain? I think she did." Noubell said as dozens of shiny arrowheads peeked out of the shadows.

**Remember to review.**

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	14. The Crags pt 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, or Talos and Pyre, I do, however, own my OCs. **

Chapter Thirteen: The Crags pt. 2

"GAH!" Gahiji yelled as he dived off the dragon he was riding. He was ten feet above the ground, and that obviously didn't hamper him at all. He landed and rolled, growling as he gripped the dusty earth.

"I hate flying! I now hate it now!" Gahiji exclaimed as he found his feet. The dragon that Gahiji was riding soon touched down beside. Gahiji looked up at this dragon. He has a thick and muscular build. His scales are a dark forest green, usually made dull by choice and his underbelly and wing membranes are a silverery color. His eyes are the same color as is scales, and he has similar markings to Cynder's on his shoulders. His tail spade is quite interesting; ten inches from the tip of his tail are two blades that curve to meet the tip of his tail; growing from the tip is a third blade shaped like a hand-and-a-half sword. His horns start at the crown of his head and travel up at a slight angle back, and are also silver colored. He has scars all over his body, most prominent being one that stretches from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist, a straight and thick scar over his eye, and a large amount of crisscross scars on his back.

The dragon was a little smaller then Spyro, both in terms of height and muscles, but this dragon was only thirty years of age, young for a dragon, and still promised to grow, a lot. His name was Aiden, Spyro's personal bodyguard and general. Gahiji volunteered to accompany Aiden to the Crags, mostly because he would like to see who else was part of the alliance that he and his kind was joining. That and he had heard that the Crags were quite an arid place, one that reminded Gahiji of his own homeland. Gahiji looked at the large dragon as he landed. A group of panthers walked toward them. There were three of them; the one in the middle had a pendent of an eye with a slit pupil.

"Greetings, General Aiden." The panther in the middle greeted.

"Greetings." Aiden stated in his deep voice. Gahiji pushed himself to his feet and stared the panther in the eyes. Gahiji's hand unconsciously fell to the handle of his khopesh.

"I am the ambassador from Mesir. I am Commander Gahiji." The jackal stated, neither politely nor rudely. Gahiji was the same size as the lead panther. The lead panther eyed Gahiji.

"I am Chieftain Reio, one of the many chiefs in the Crags." Reio stated. The panther then looked to Aiden and said "Your visit is quite timely. We have just caught a group of dragons infiltrating the Crags." This piqued Gahiji's interest.

"Was one of them a black hatchling?" Gahiji asked. The panther regarded him strangely.

"Yes, one was a black hatchling. Why does it matter?" Reio asked as he tilted his head to the side, showing that he was unsure about what this strange jackal wanted.

"I wish to see her." Gahiji stated. The panther chief cocked his head to the other side, still confused. Reio cast a glance at Aiden, the larger dragon just nodding his head.

"Alright, this way." The panther said as he led the jackal to the captives. Aiden stretched his wings and took off, speeding towards where the guardian that he was supposed to check on was.

≤Ω≥

The seven dragons were marched along the shadowy corridors that the jagged rocks of the Crags made. They would've tried to fight back, but they had been cramped since before they were first captured. Talos once growled at this predicament. _Children, they can grate my nerves sometimes… Probably shouldn't tell that to Pyre, what with her being gravid and all. _Talos thought to himself, remembering the promise he had made to his mate in the last letter he had sent. _"I will be home in time to see our kid born. That's a promise."_ He had been stuck in the Crags for five months, prior to this. He was paid to scout out the area till someone came to relieve them. When a half dead Sarah arrived straight from the fallen Warfang, Talos had hoped that his visit would've been cut short, but no. Two months later, when Sarah was healthy enough to move, Dimitri and Syra arrived. He was close to missing Pyre laying the egg, and he would rather vacation in hell then miss the hatching. Dragonesses are gravid for six months, they then lay the egg. The hatchling develops in the egg for four months, then hatches.

Syra was whimpering and pressing against Dimitri's side. Dimitri walked straight and stiff, knowing that he couldn't escape. Talos knew that there was something going on in Syra's head. The hatchling had been completely calm, unit she noticed that there was a young panther in the group. Then she shattered, whimpering and running over to Dimitri and pressing herself against the young Knight. It surprised Dimitri, but only made Talos ponder. _What is she up to?_ He thought to himself as a panther jammed the butt of his spear into Talos' back. The pale dragon snarled at the panther, which wilted under Talos' fierce countenance.

"G-get moving!" The panther stuttered, trying not to sound too scared. Talos snorted and complied. One panther stepped forward, this one larger than the others.

"Which one of you has the power to take demands?" He asked the group. Dimitri stepped forward.

"That would be me. I am Sir Dimitri, the Warfang Knight of Ice." Dimitri stated as he looked at the panther. The panther was a head and shoulders taller than Dimitri, so Dimitri had to look up at the panther. The panther too looked down at Dimitri.

"You? You are too young." The panther stated. "How could you be a knight?" Dimitri locked eyes with the panther.

"Spyro got to my late master." Dimitri stated." The panther looked down at the ice dragon, understanding a bit more. "Take the young one to the council chambers." The panther commanded. "Take the rest to the Drake's Hold." One of the panthers pried Syra away from Dimitri. Syra screeched loudly and flailed her limbs, trying to get back to Dimitri. "Please!" She cried as she tried to get back to Dimitri. The lead panther shook his head and motioned for the rest of the panthers to lead Syra, Talos and his troop away. Syra screeched again and get out of the grip of the panther that was holding hold. She raced over to Dimitri before the panthers could grab her and pressed up against his side. She whimpered again, scrambling and actually going underneath Dimitri and trying to hide. The lead panther motioned for another panther to grab to Syra. The motioned panther made to grab Syra, but the arrival of a messenger stopped them.

"Sir, Chieftain Reio wishes that a black hatchling be taken to the council chambers." The messenger stated. The lead panther looked at his troop. He nodded and pushed Syra and Dimitri in front of him and several other panthers and walked away. Talos noticed that one of them was the young panther that Syra had seen. Talos and his troop were marched along a path, one that made all of the dragons cramped. They all had coverings over their eyes. Talos heard a light ripping sound, and knew that his cloak had been ripped by the jagged rocks.

Talos sighed, hoping that his cloak could make out of this place alive; it was a gift that Pyre gave him so many years ago, when he ran-away from his home village. She had ran after him when he left, and not being able to convince him to come back, draped the cloak she was wearing around his shoulders and said "At least stay warm…". Talos had always had it made longer whenever he grew out of it, so that he never lost what his first and only friend at the time gave him. They kept walking for who knows how long, Talos didn't keep count.

They were walking before the blind folds were finally removed. They now stood in front of a large pit. In the bottom of the pit was a female wind dragon. She was silver all over with a sky blue under belly and wings. Instead of horns, she had four white frills along her head and another frill that went down her back to her rump. Her wings were wider, like all wind dragons. Her tail spade was a wide fin and was silver as well.

"Well, looks like we found Angel." Noubell said as they all stared down at the downed guardian. There was a heavy thump behind them. What happened next was almost too quick to counter. An earth shot collided with Collie and Border, sending them off into the pit. A tail lashed out and smacked into Brutus and sent him to over the edge. Talos looked over to Noubell as the albino was shoved into the pit via earth shot. Talos turned around and was tackled into the pit. He saw a pair of silvery wings spread and a flash of green as he fell. Before Talos could flip around to slow himself, his back collided with the hard ground. Talos immediately felt his strength sapping, leaving his body. It was so quick and sudden; he barely had enough strength to roll over. He looked up at a green dragon flying above the pit, which he assumed was called 'Drake's Hold'. Talos looked over to his side and saw something he didn't notice before. There was a large, black gem in the center of the pit. That, and Angel was wearing shackles and a collar; a pulsing green light came from the shackles and collar. There was a second gem, this one silverish and very dim. It too pulsed with a faint green light and rested in a pedestal above the black gem, but they pulses were few and far in-between.

The edges of Talos' vision were becoming fuzzy. He twisted his head to the side and saw his comrades collapsing and falling unconscious. "Aiden, I hope I get to stab you before I leave." Was all Talos said before he blacked-out.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri and Syra were marched to the large mass of rocks at the center of the Crags. Dimitri looked down at the black hatchling pressed against his side. This was not the Syra he knew. While he didn't know much about the little one, he knew that she was full of surprises; that, and she was very good at lying. Not a good quality. He cast another glance at Syra, sighing as he realized that she was using him to help whatever façade she most likely had. _I am too cynical. Syra is a hatchling. She is probably just scared._ Dimitri thought to himself. They continued marching for a while, and eventually Syra calmed down.

"Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to you." The young panther stated as he fell behind Syra. The panther couldn't have been more than eighteen years of age. He held a strange weapon; it was a staff with a curved, foot long blade on either end. Syra sniffled slightly.

"Thank you. I'm Syra. Who are you?" She asked the young panther.

"I am Orpheus." The young panther said as he smiled Syra. Syra's face contorted in concentration.

"Or-fee-us?" She pronounced, hoping to get it right. Orpheus smiled and said "You got it." Syra cracked a small smile at the young panther. As they continued further, it got darker and darker. While it was still light out, the deeper you get into the Crags, the darker it gets due to the jagged rocks creating a very effective shade. Syra whimpered at the lack of light, pressing harder against Dimitri's side. "I don't like the dark." She whimpered to Orpheus. The panther frowned as he stepped in stride with the lead panther.

"Sir, could I light torch?" He asked as the lead panther cast a glance at him.

"Why? You can see fine, can't you?" he asked the younger panther. Orpheus shifted his staff to his other hand and back, a nervous habit.

"The torch is for the dragons' sake, sir. Perhaps they do not have such good eyesight as we do. They have lived in the skies, not the dark." Orpheus explained. The lead panther looked at the younger panther.

"I am well aware of this, _Orpheus_, they can see well enough." The lead panther stated as they continue walking. "Please sir." Orpheus tried one more time. The lead panther sighed. To be honest, he didn't care about a torch at all. He handed Orpheus his own torch, saying "You are buying me a new one." Orpheus nodded and took the torch in his hand. He knelt down on his knee, taking out some flint and began to try to light the torch. The lead panther motioned for the troop to continue along and temporarily leave Orpheus alone. In a minute, the young panther had caught up with the blazing torch in his hand. The fire cast a warm glow around the small progression. The jagged rocks cast strange shadows, and the flickering light made the shadows dance they were in a flame themselves. Syra sighed slightly and let herself not lean on Dimitri so much.

Now, Dimitri was puzzled. Shadow dragons naturally preferred dark places. In fact, the Crags must have been a shadow dragon's paradise! Dimitri shook his head again. _She could be a fire dragon. With more than one element, there is no way to tell._ Dimitri thought to himself, easily giving the hatchling the benefit of the doubt. The continued walking, nothing else much happening; they walked until they reached a large set of stone doors. Orpheus ground the torch into the ground and helped to open the stone doors. The opened doors revealed a small market place within the tangle of rocks. Panthers milled around with wares to trade in their arms. In the center of the market place was a thick and very large pillar. They walked to the pillar, the panthers stopping to stare at the progression.

They reached the pillar in the center, and there was a pair of doors on the pillar. The set opened to reveal a room that was bare of any out jutting rocks. There was a 'U', stone table in the middle of the room. On the outside arms and curve of the table were twelve high-backed chairs, but there were only four panthers sitting in the chairs, and all but one had four guards behind them. There was a podium in between the arms of the table. A familiar looking jackal stood at the podium. Syra smiled slightly, the very tips of her pearly fangs showing for a split second before she returned to whimpering. Dimitri eyed the hatchling at his side before turning his attention to the seated panthers. They all wore dusty brown tunics, but they all had a different symbol attached to a string around their necks. One had a claw, another a tail wrapped around a spear; a third was a sword with fangs forming a hand guard, and the last was an eye with a slit pupil. The jackal turned around and looked at Syra.

"Well, I think that I am favored by fate to find you here, Syra, I think it was." The jackal stated; one of the panthers spoke up, the one with the spear necklace. "Commander Gahiji that business will wait for later." This panther then looked over to panther that lead Dimitri and Syra. "Which is the dragon that can accept demands?" He asked.

"The white child, he claims to be a Knight of Warfang." The lead panther stated as he nodded to Dimitri. He and the other guards had positioned themselves behind the panther with the spear necklace. One of the sitting panthers, the one with sword necklace spoke up now.

"There are no more 'Knights of Warfang'. They have been disbanded." He stated, very straight forward in the way he said it. "We have received this news letter from Warfang." Dimitri stared at the panther disbelievingly. "Do you have that newsletter on you? May I see it?" Dimitri asked politely. One of the panthers, the one with the claw necklace, reached into a satchel at his side. He took out several sheets of paper and walked over to Dimitri and handed them to Dimitri.

"Here you are young one." The panther stated, surprising Dimitri because the voice was one of a female. Dimitri reached for the newsletter. As he read it, he had to take a double take. It read this:

_The Knights of Warfang have been disbanded! After the fall of Warfang at the hands of General Aiden, the knights had tried to fight back against their captors, but a hostage situation caused them to surrender themselves willingly. They were due to be executed, but by the will of General Spyro Corvo, they were all spared. IF, they were to renounced their vows, turned in their armor and blade-sheaths, and submit to exile from Warfang and return on pain of death. They all followed the demands, albeit grudgingly. A crowd assembled to watch the leaving of the old knights. Before they left, the male knight of shadow stated _'propitius esto, oportet tibi iure iniustas'_, which he then translated to 'we leave, and we never return.' They then left, all in the same direction. If you see these people, you owe none of them any loyalty, any thanks, any favors. They are now rovers, and should be treated as such._

Dimitri didn't know how to react to this news. The knights had renounced their oaths. They _were_ their oaths. But wait, that phrase, _'propitius esto, oportet tibi iure iniustas'_, that is not what it meant. It meant… Dimitri's hope still stayed in his heart. He gave the newsletter back to the female panther with a slight nod.

"You may take the hatchlings to Drake's Hold, Captain Ferris. They have no use here." The panther with the eye necklace said to the lead panther, whose name was now revealed to be Ferris. Before Dimitri and Syra could be led out, Syra gasped.

"Your necklace!" Syra stated as she darted to the panther with the eye necklace. "It looks just like Terra's tattoo!" She exclaimed once more as she picked the amulet up to more closely look at it. The panther chief seemed stunned as he looked down at the hatchling.

"W-what do you mean?" He asked as he stared down at Syra. "I had a friend once, she was a pretty panther. Her eyes were blue, and she had a tattoo like this on the inside of her ear." Syra stated as she put the amulet down. The panther with the sword necklace spoke up. "Terra, that is your dead daughter, right Reio?" He asked as he leaned intently forward. Reio gaped as he looked over to Ferris. "Escort the white one away. I wish to speak to the black one."

"I am sorry, bit that hatchling must go to Drake's hold and wait to be moved back to Concurrent Skies." Gahiji stated as he stepped forward. Reio immediately looked over to Gahiji. Reio had a bad habit of letting his emotions control him, especially when his family is concerned. "What do you mean, 'take back to Concurrent Skies'?" Reio snarled at the jackal. Gahiji gripped the hilt of his khopesh and snarled. He never liked being an ambassador, only his king could tell him what to do, not some foreign dignitary.

"I was told to bring that hatchling back to Concurrent Skies, and that is what I intend to do." Gahiji stated. The pantheress with the claw necklace stood up and looked at Reio. "Submit Reio, we are in an alliance with the Spyro and his armies. If all they ask is a hatchling that claims knowledge of your dead daughter, we've nothing to lose."

"I agree with Reio. Pana, if his daughter is alive, this hatchling might know something." The panther with the sword necklace stated.

"You only say that so you may profit, Mexic." The panther with the spear necklace countered.

"I say what I do because I care for my family, Azect." Mexic, the one with the sword necklace, snarled at Azect, the panther with the spear necklace. They all stood and started to trade harsh phrases. Things went bad when Pana told her guards to take Dimitri and Syra away.

"Captain Ferris, accompany Pana's guards." Azect said. Ferris nodded and lead his troop to Syra and Dimitri. Syra by this time had plastered herself to Dimitri's, whimpering as the panthers yelled at each other. Mexic growled and said to his guards: "Do not allow them to do that." The guards drew there weapons and stepped toward Dimitri and Syra. Reio gave his guards a similar command. Unfortunately for them all, Gahiji was a solider and not a diplomat. He reacted like the fight had already stared. Without a single cry, he jumped on the table, took out his khopesh and tackled a panther. When they landed, Gahiji rolled of and slashed out the panther's throat. That caused all of the panthers to leap at each other. Pana's guard began to back out of the council chambers. Reio's guards saw this and charged them.

"Run!" Ferris yelled as he and another large panther grabbed Dimitri and Syra and ran out of the chamber. They burst into the market place, the sounds of battle causing much chaos in the market place as the panthers from different tribes tried to help their comrades in the council chambers. Ferris, Orpheus, and the other large panther made it to the first set of doors. They all gaped for air, especially the two that held Dimitri and Syra. They dropped the dragons without any care.

"Okay, we-" Before Ferris could finish, he was slashed across the back. The larger panther had a blade slammed against his gut, and another blade stabbed into his back. Orpheus stepped back, staring at his bloodied staff and bloody comrades.

"Y-y-your just child. You should just go home. We need to get your friends back. Quickly." Orpheus stated as he led Dimitri and Syra down the walkway, and into darkness. The tips of Syra's fangs flashed as she grinned just for a second. _That plan worked well. I am good at acting._

**A/N: I do not own 'Orpheus', he is owned by Riverstyxx. Sorry if the end seemed rushed, it was. I was a bit late. I didn't have time to send this to my beta for editing, but I will do that. You can still read this if you want. Nothing is going to stop you. **

**This is important, so listen up. The Guardians lost the war. They lost, they are done, they failed, were crushed. It is easy to tell you this right here. **


	15. The Crags pt 3

**A/N: I will use 'paw' and 'hand' interchangeably. I don't know why, but I will. Headsup, this chapter is violent. And I mean it. So you squeamish people, skim the end.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, or Talos and Orpheus, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Fourteen: The Crags pt.3

Gahiji used the curve of his khopesh to rip the spear out of a panther's hand before slashing his gut open. The jackal jumped back as another panther lunged for him. Snarling, Gahiji pushed the spear to the side then leapt forward and dug his teeth into the offending panther's neck. With a slight ripping noise, Gahiji tore out the panther's throat, spilling blood across his face. Gahiji twisted around and dodged another stab, raising his foot and delivering a stomp kick to another panther's face. Things had spiraled out of control too quickly. After Dimitri and Syra left, the whole market place turned into a free-for-all as the separate clans started to fight with each other. Gahiji saw Reio, one of the panther chieftains, fighting against Gahiji's impromptu comrades. Gahiji jumped onto the 'U' shaped table and ran towards Reio. Without warning, Gahiji tossed himself off of the table and landed feet first on another panther.

Not even bothering to kill his cushion, he hacked downward at Reio. Reio raised his weapon, a war hammer that was short enough to be used with one hand, and used the pick on the back of the hammer to hook Gahiji's sword and deflect it. Gahiji then used his left hand, swung it and dug his claws into Reio's cheek. Gahiji dropped his word and rammed his right hand into Reio's other cheek. Before Reio could react, Gahiji rolled to his back and bunched his legs under Reio's chest, kicking out his legs and launching the panther chief onto the table. Rolling to his feet, Gahiji grabbed his sword and leapt up on the table. Reio had got back to his feet by now. When he saw Gahiji, Reio spun around and sung his hammer in a backhand. Gahiji jumped back. The hammer was too heavy and had too much momentum to block, but now Reio was open to a retaliating hit. The panther's leg was extended and he had his weight on it. Gahiji stepped forward and pivoted on his heel, stomp-kicking Reio's knee. The panther's leg twisted and he hit one knee, looking like he was taking a knee. Gahiji smiled as he swung down his khopesh and lopped the head of Chieftain Reio off.

Gahiji scooped up the head, and with a voice that cut through the din of battle: "Reio is dead!" Another panther, one of Azect's, copied the call. The call spread through the market place, leaving puzzled and demoralized hearts in its wake. Some of the panthers began to back out of the market place and council room. The panthers that belonged to Mexic's tribe formed a protective circle around all of the civilians they could, with Mexic standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his tribe mates and fought back against the other panthers. Civilians from the other tribes, whose chieftains were gone and leading an army to Concurrent Skies, ran around and tried to escape the market place. Gahiji saw the chieftain cut down another of his impromptu comrades. He snarled as he charged through the panther ranks. He used the hook of his khopesh to pull out the feet of the panthers that were in his way. He wouldn't do this to his fellow jackals, but none of his fellow jackals were there. He cleared his way to the Mexic. The panther chief was wielding a sword-like machete. Mexic didn't expect for Gahiji to hook his shoulder and pull him out of the circle. Grabbing onto the panther's tunic, Gahiji pushed Mexic onto the ground. Dropping his sword, Gahiji thought it best to show why the jackals are known as one of the most vicious creatures on the earth.

Gahiji leapt onto Mexic and began to rip into him with his claws and teeth. The blood of the panther spattered against Gahiji as Mexic yelled and screamed in pain. A crowd of panthers gathered around them, watching in horror, but not able to tear their eyes away. Gahiji's claws tore bits of flesh off of Mexic's body and sent them splattering against the assembled crowd. The gruesomeness was added to when Gahiji grabbed a large rock.

After his show was over, Gahiji stood and stared at his bloodied claws in an almost drunken state. "Why did we ever start using weapons?" He asked no one in particular as he continued to admire his gore-smeared hands. Gahiji next swiped his tongue over his lips, savoring the metallic and salty tasting blood.

"You never forget the taste of someone else's blood. It is just so alike to your own, and yet it is so foreign." Gahiji's entire front was stained with blood, his already red tunic now looking black as he told the watching panthers of his strange observation. Several panther's bared their weapons and stepped forward, snarling as they planned to kill the disgusting creature in front of them. Gahiji snarled as he turned to face them, his claws barred at the offending panthers. Before they could attack, a quiet voice drifted through the crowds.

"Stop." the voice said clearly. A few panthers parted to reveal Pana, the female chieftain, walking up to them. She walked through the crowd and up to Gahiji. Her fur stuck up in strange angles, signifying that she had been through the most recent melee. She reached into the satchel at her side and pulled out a water skin, and piece of cloth, and handed both to Gahiji. "Clean yourself." She stated, staring into Gahiji's eyes, as if to calm a beast.

_Calm a beast, how accurate._ Gahiji thought as he grabbed both items. His chest heaved as he bathed his face and hands with the lukewarm water from the waterskin. With the rag, he dried and wiped the blood from his face and hands, tossing the rag on the ground and handing the waterskin back to Pana. She sighed as she took out a clean rag and wiped most of the blood from the water skin off, wrapping the waterskin in the rag and putting it back into her satchel. She looked to Gahiji before turning to the panthers.

"Do not harm this man! He has killed a traitor, and is that a thing to be punished? No. And so he will not be punished." Pana said before she cast a glance at the dead chieftain. She shivered at the mutilated corpse. "Although his method was, disturbing, is that not what a traitor deserves? A cruel and painful death. We panthers are survivors, and so we must stand by each other. Traitors are the weeds that destroy us, and such weeds must be torn. Mexic and Reio were such weeds, and now we are free of them. The panther's will survive, as we always do." Pana ended her little speech by turning around and digging into her satchel. She pulled out a small and very sharp looking knife. Pana took Gahiji's left hand and shaved a spot off of the back of the jackal's hand. Gahiji snarled at the pantheress as she worked away at his hand.

"This will pinch, but don't fight back." Pana whispered quietly to Gahiji. The jackal raised an eyebrow. Without warning, Pana dug the tip of the knife into the back of Gahiji's hand, deep enough to almost hit bone. Gahiji yelped slightly, digging his claws into his paw as Pana began to work the knife around, carving a shape in his hand. When Pana was done, she placed the knife into her satchel and took out a small flask. Even without it being opened, Gahiji could smell the pungent liquid in it. The jackal commander hissed as Pana poured the liquid onto the open cut that was on Gahiji's hand. Gahiji hadn't been able to see what the cut looked like, and had no idea what Pana was doing. When she moved away, he was able to see what she had done. On his hand was now a scar in the outline as the amulet that Pana wore; a panther's claw.

"I have marked him. Gahiji, Commander of the Mesirian Armies, you are now accepted into my family. You are my brother as much as any of my litter mates." Pana said a she placed a paw on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, but before he could say anything, she hugged him. Once more before he could do anything, Pana whispered harshly in his ear. "Reject the offer and one of the panthers will slip a knife into your back." She stated simply before she pulled away. Gahiji stayed quiet as he walked out of the market place with Pana dogging his steps. Along the way, Gahiji grabbed his khopesh as well as a torch. When they passed the stone door and away from any other's eyes, Gahiji twisted around, dropping the torch he was carrying. He grabbed Pana by the throat and slammed her against the jagged rocks. They didn't pierce her skin, but they still hurt, a lot. Pana cried out, but the stone walls restricted the sound.

"What did you do?" Gahiji asked as he leaned in closer with a snarl on his lips. His teeth and lips were still splattered with blood. The same red liquid made had coagulated in his fur, making his fur stick out in strange angles and giving him a crazed look.

"Exactly what I said; I made you part of my family. You have been marked with my family crest, that liquid that I poured on your hand will make sure that the scar is permanent. None would dare to harm the family of a panther chieftain." Pana stated as she tried to pry Gahiji's fingers from around her neck. It didn't work.

"There's more, I know it! What did you do?" Gahiji asked again as he began to dig his claws into Pana's neck. She squirmed slightly, trying to kick out Gahiji's legs, but she couldn't quite do that. Gahiji twisted and let Pana collapse to her feet. Before she could get up, Gahiji stepped behind her and got her in a sleeper hold. Pana's eyes bugged out of her head as she felt Gahiji's arm effectively and easily cut off the blood to her head and her breathing. "Tell me!" He growled loudly at the helpless female.

"I will!" She croaked out as her vision began to go black. Gahiji let her go and she sprawled across the ground. Pana put her hands to her throat as she gasped for air. "I made you my heir." Pana stated as she tried to push herself off of the ground. Tried, because Gahiji put a foot on her back.

"What do you mean, 'your heir'?" Gahiji questioned as he pressed down on her back.

"I have no living family. Since you are now the only living family of mine, you are to take control of my tribe when I die." She said as her front was pressed into the ground. "Why?" Gahiji asked he put more weight on his foot and, since jackals usually didn't wear coverings for their feet, ground the claws on his toes into her back.

"So you would not be killed! You are now protected."

"NO! Give me the real reason!" Gahiji commanded as he unsheathed his khopesh and swung it at her neck.

"Insurance!" She yelled desperately. Gahiji stopped the blade before it could bite into Pana's neck. "None would try to kill me now, or they would have a savage as their lead." Pana said as she tried the squirm out from underneath Gahiji's foot. The jackal snarled as he picked his foot up off of her back, grabbed the torch and began to walk away. Gahiji needed the torch; jackals live in a dessert, so the dark pathways of the Crags made it so he could not see. Pana stood and followed him, although she stayed at least ten feet behind the savage jackal. Gahiji kept on walking until his foot kicked into a body. He looked down, and was surprised to see the body of two panthers at his feet. Both were dead, bled out most likely. One had a deep and short slash across his back, and the other had a deep cut in his gut and a stab wound on his back. Pana kneeled down by the one with a slash wound on his back.

"Captain Ferris." Pana stated as she moved the panther's head she it could be seen.

"There were three panthers that ran, there are only two here." Pana stated as she stood up and looked around.

"Looks like you have a real traitor in your midst." Gahiji stated as he knelt down to examine the dusty ground. He could make out three separate pairs of foot prints. He began to follow them, hoping that they would lead him to his prey. He started to run ahead, easily out pacing Pana and leaving her behind

"The hunt is on."

≤Ω≥

Orpheus led Dimitri and Syra down the shadowy walkways, his hand gripped around his staff as tightly as possible. Syra still leaned against Dimitri as they walked, but she stopped whimpering and occasionally traded words with Orpheus.

"Do you have a home?" Syra asked the young panther.

"Yes, I do. But I fear that I may have lost it." He responded. Syra frowned as she thought.

"Then you can stay with us!" She exclaimed as the idea hit her. Orpheus chuckled to himself at the hatchling's enthusiasm.

"Yes, perhaps I could." Orpheus stated. It didn't sound that bad. He wouldn't be welcome here anymore. Traitors are not tolerated in the Crags; at all. Perhaps what he needed was a new start, and this hatchling seemed to promise him that. But would the other dragons agree with her? He hoped so.

They continued to walk for another half hour, away from the center of the Crags; the wild tangle of rocks becoming smaller and smaller till they walked half in shadows and half in light. Dimitri and Syra didn't know where they were going, and they both hoped that Orpheus was able to be trusted. Sure Syra put on a show being friendly and liking him, but it was exactly that; a show. They walked down what seemed to be an area that was a bit narrower for the rest of the pathways. At the end of the pathway was a strange sight for the Crags. It was a large, circular area with little to no rocks, leaving the ground dusty and dry; there was another path across from them. Orpheus nodded at the path across from them.

"That is the path that leads to Drake's Hold, a very large pit, basically. We put some sort of dark colored gem in there. It weakens the dragons so they cannot escape. If you break it, they will go free." Orpheus explained. Dimitri nodded at the explanation. They began to walk over to the other pathway, but they were stopped by a loud cry.

"Traitor!" They all turned around to see the jackal, Gahiji, running at them. His sword was drawn as he snarled and launched himself at the three.

"Run!" Orpheus cried as he stepped forward and brandished his sword-staff. Dimitri nodded and turned around, bolting to the other pathway with Syra at his side. Gahiji snarled, stepped up and slashed down at Orpheus. Orpheus parried the sword, stepped back and spun around, using the spin the gain the momentum for his side slash Gahiji stepped back and dodged the stack. He noticed that the young panther's knee was extended. Gahiji stepped forward and stomp-kicked the extended knee, over extending it and causing Orpheus to fall to his knees. Gahiji dropped his sword and dug his claws into the panther's face. The claws could only go so deep, but they were still extremely painful when the jackal began to grate his claws back and forth on the panthers face.

≤Ω≥

Dimitri and Syra heard the painful scream of Orpheus as they ran down the pathway that led to Drake's Hold. Dimitri stopped for a second and looked back. He sighed and continued running. It wasn't much longer that they came to a large hole in the ground, most likely fifty feet in depth and two hundred feet in diameter. The area was just like the one that Orpheus and Gahiji were fighting in; bare of rocks, so there was a way in and out of there. Looking down the pit, there were six dragons lying down in the bottom of the deep pit. Five of them were male albinos, one of which was wearing a cloak, and the last was a female wind dragon.

"There they are, Talos, his mercenaries, and Angel." Dimitri said as he stared down at the six dragons.

"Well duh! Who else would they be?" Syra stated plainly as she stepped up to look over the edge.

"What happened to you being scared?" Dimitri asked at Syra's sudden change from scared to her sassy self.

"Never was scared in the first place." Syra stated as she turned back to face Dimitri. Before she could say anything else, a loud roar came from above them. They both looked up and saw a green dragon with silver wings flying in circles over the top of Drake's Hold. "Aiden." Syra whimpered out as she once more went scared. "Destroy the black crystal, destroy it quickly!" She shouted at Dimitri.

"What?" He said, puzzled at her once again sudden change in demeanor.

"Hurry up and do it!" Syra plead as Aiden dived for them. Dimitri cursed under his breath, grabbed Syra, and leapt into the pit. Syra squealed as she fell.

"I can't fly!" She yelled at him. Dimitri, still holding onto Syra, spread his wings and stopped to two of them from falling all the way. Dimitri let out several large icicles that found their mark's in the crystal. It shattered and caused the surrounding dragons too awakens. Talos stood up and rubbed his head, gasping as all his strength returned. It actually caused him and his men to fall over, but Talos was still the first up.

"What the hell was that?" Talos asked as he found his balance.

"A modified dark gem. It is supposed to steal the strength from dragons and give it to whoever is wearing the gem. When the gem is destroyed, the dragon's strength is returned. As you just witnessed." Syra explained as she kicked one of the lifeless shards. Talos snorted as he too crushed one underfoot.

"How come they don't work anymore?" Noubell asked as he stared wearily at a shard.

"Once a shard is broken away from the mother gem, it stops working. So these gems are kinda impractical in trying to use; trying to shape one in an amulet would cause the gem to not work" Syra explained once more.

"Why the hell are we all listening to a hatchling?" Collie said loudly. Before anyone could respond, Aiden dived into the pit.

≤Ω≥

Gahiji leapt to the side to dodge the swipe from Orpheus, but didn't expect the other end of Orpheus staff to come around and cut his back. Gahiji snarled as she swung his sword at the young panther in hopes of hitting his side, but once more Orpheus blocked the attack, pivoted and kicked at Gahiji. The panther was proving to be a pain to kill. The strange weapon he used throw Gahiji off, and the proficiency of how he used it didn't help at all. Gahiji stepped back to avoid the kick, which allowed Orpheus to quickly set his foot down, spin and slash at Gahiji again. The jackal growled as he couldn't move in time and had his tunic cut open. The tip of the blade dug into Gahiji's chest, causing him to bleed. Having enough of this, the jackal let out a howl of rage.

Using the hook of his khopesh, Gahiji ripped the sword-staff out of Orpheus' hands. Gahiji tossed the staff away and slashed down at Orpheus. The panther dived to the side and rolled away from the jackal. Standing back up, Orpheus ran for his staff, sliding and grabbing it, raising it over his head in time to block the downward blow from Gahiji. The jackal snarled, raised his foot and delivered a stomp-kick to Orpheus face. The panther fell to his back by the force of the kick. Before Orpheus could get up, Gahiji delivered a hard stomp to Orpheus' solar plexus. The young panther felt his breath leave him as Gahiji continued to repeatably drop his weight in heavy stomps to the panther's body. The last three were directed to Orpheus throat.

Gahiji picked up Orpheus' sword-staff and twirled it. Using his foot, Gahiji turned Orpheus onto his back. The jackal commander twirled the staff around and stabbed into Orpheus gut. The blade went through the young panther, going out his back and into the ground. Orpheus screamed as he instinctively tried to sit up and curl around the impaling weapon,but the foot of Gahiji pressed him back down. The jackal twisted and kicked the staff, breaking the staff in half. Gahiji twirled around the upper half, before turning it to reverse style. Gahiji raised it above his head and dropped to his knees, using he fall to put his weight behind the broken staff in his hands. The blade found its mark in Orpheus throat, and like the other, impaled the ground, pinning the young panther to the ground. Orpheus arms flailed as he tried to pull either of the blades out, but he was too weak to do such. He lied there in a pool of his own blood, his dusty colored tunic becoming stained with his own blood as he whispered his last words.

"I go home now." Gahiji just stared at the dying panther. "Traitors have no home."

≤Ω≥

Aiden didn't have much time to react after he landed. As soon as he touched down, Brutus and Noubell slammed into his side and sent him stumbling. Unfortunately for Aiden, he was big enough to have both Collie and Border leap onto his back and began to bite and tear at him, ripping up some of the scales. Aiden rolled to his back to crush the annoying twins, but they jumped off him just as he rolled. Talos now took his turn at attacking Spyro's personal bodyguard and general. Using his horns, Talos rammed Aiden in the side and sent him rolling till he lay with his back up. Talos dragged his claws over Aiden's back as the other mercenaries fell upon Aiden with claws and armored fists. Very soon, the dark green dragon lies there, unmoving. Syra cast a wary glance at Aiden. It was evident on her face that she couldn't wait to put the large green dragon behind her.

"That was easy." Collie stated as he kicked the still body of Aiden. Dimitri and Syra had since removed Angel's shackles, which were actually loose enough to slip off.

"I guess they depended on the gem to keep her down." Dimitri muttered. He had to wake the wind guardian, and he did that by blasting slush all over Angel's face. She bolted awake, sputtering and cursing. She instinctively dropped into a defensive crouch, till she paid more attention to the dragons around her.

"Dimitri?" Angel asked as she peered at the ice dragon. Just like when he had met with Sarah again, he bowed by bending his fore legs and putting his right wing in front of his chest and raising his left wing.

"Master Angel. It is good to see that you are well. Can you fly? We should leave as soon as possible. I think that we may have started a civil conflict." Dimitri stated as he looked up at the wind guardian. She looked down at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you asking a _wind dragon_ whether or not she can fly?" Angel asked in an even voice. Dimitri smiled.

"Of course Master Angel. My mistake. Let us leave now." Dimitri stated as he crouched, ready to leap and fly away from the Crags. Syra made a move to Brutus, but Border's call interrupted them all.

"Collie!" He yelled. They all turned to where Collie had been, only to find Aiden to be standing like nothing ever happened. His tail spade was stabbed into Collie's jaw and up into his head, two inches of the tip being visible from the top of Collie's head. He was dead. The albino's limp body was lifted off the ground and hanging on Aiden's spade as he stared at the dead dragon. Without a word, he removed his spade and let the body fall to the ground, blood leaking out of the stab wound that the earth dragon had inflicted.

"COLLIE!" Border yelled as he throws himself at Aiden. The earth dragon spun around and grabbed onto Border's neck, throwing him to the ground and unleashing a powerful earth shot point blank to Border's chest. There was a loud crack, followed by a pain filled scream, and two other powerful earth shots to Border's chest; Border stopped moving. He was dead.

Brutus and Noubell attacked together. Brutus charged him head on while Noubell tried to jump on his back, hoping that Brutus' charge would distract Aiden. It didn't work. Aiden dropped his head and met Brutus charge head on. There was a large dent in Brutus' helmet as the tough albino cursed loudly and howled in pain as shockwaves spread throughout his body. Aiden stood as if nothing had happened, although he had a small dent in his skull. Noubell tried to land on his back, but Aiden stepped to the side and swung, hacking the curved part of his tail spade past Noubell's armor and into his shoulder. The albino gritted his teeth and tried to slash back with his uninjured limb, but Talos beat him to it as the lead albino slammed, wrist blades first, into Aiden's side. The blades sunk all the way into Aiden's side, but seemed as though the hit was a flea's bite to him. Aiden kicked out at Talos with his hind leg, pushing the lead mercenary out of the way as he turned his attention back to Noubell. Aiden tackled Noubell down to the ground and sunk his teeth into the albino's neck. Noubell screamed when Aiden shook his head left and right, digging his teeth into Noubell's flesh and tearing at it. Before anyone could react, Aiden grabbed a hold of Noubell's head and flew up into the air.

Brutus and Talos unfurled their wings and took off after the two. Aiden flew strait up for several hundred feet. When he reached the apex of his flight, Aiden folded his wings against his side and dived for the ground. With the extra weight of Noubell, neither Brutus nor Talos were able to catch the two of them in time. Aiden dived till he reached to opening of the pit. Aiden spread his wings in a sudden stop. His hold was on Noubell's head; there was a ripping noise. The albino's body fell to the ground. Aiden dragon dropped Noubell's head after the body collided with the ground. He was dead.

But the sudden stop had dislocated both of Aiden's wings, but he didn't seem to be affected at all. Brutus let out an angry roar and dived for Aiden. The earth dragon crouched and waited for the large albino's attack. Right before Brutus reached him, Aiden reared up on his rear legs; the large albino collided with the earth dragon and sent Aiden to his back. There was a crunch as it seemed that to signify the breaking of one of Aiden's hind legs. But like everything else, Aiden was not at all affected. Using his superior size and weight, Aiden flipped over Brutus so that Aiden was now on top. Aiden snarled, brought his tail around, and stabbed it through Brutus' chest plate and into his heart. He was dead

Talos landed beside the two and tackled Aiden off of Brutus' dead body. Talos slammed Aiden's head against the ground. With a loud and rage filled roar, Talos began to repeatedly stab and slash Aiden in the chest and gut with his wrist blades, over and over again till the entire front of Talos was stained with blood. Aiden's gut and chest looked like a mass of ground meat by the time Talos was done. When Talos' fury was over and the red faded from his vision, Aiden was staring at Talos like nothing had happened. Talos too stared in shock as the earth dragon prodded at his own chest and gut.

"Is that all?" Aiden spoke for the first time since they had met. Aiden grabbed onto Talos and tossed him off. Talos stared as Aiden stood as if no injury had been inflicted; no stab wound in the side, no dislocated wings, no dented head, no broken leg, no bloodied and slashed chest and gut.

"What the hell?" Talos stated as he stared incredulously at the should-have-been-on-the-ground-half-dead dragon in front of him. Aiden stared at Talos, the lead albino chuckling as he shook his head.

"What price did you pay to be able to stay standing?" Talos asked as he undid the straps that held his cloak in place. The cloaks that dragons wear are a similar design to the blankets that moles put on their horses; there was a strap that went under the hind leg and another buckle around his neck like any other cloak. Talos' undid both of these and let the cloak slip off his shoulders and fall to the ground; he did not want it to get ripped in the fight. Talos ground his finger against his wrist blade and flicked the blood at Aiden. The battered earth dragon didn't even flinch as the blood splattered against his already bloody face. Talos looked back at Angel, Syra, and Dimitri. The three stared at the last remaining albino. This was the first time any of them had seen Talos without his cloak. The cloak had made him seem bigger, and without, his scarred and thin frame was revealed. While the front of his cloak was stained with blood, without it only the his face was covered in blood; a grim mask.

"You go ahead. I have some business to settle with this one." Talos stated as he nodded toward Aiden. Angel nodded and spread her wings Dimitri looked at Syra. This whole time, she had been hiding behind Dimitri in hopes of avoiding Aiden's detection. Dimitri nodded to Angel and said: "Go, she will carry you home." Syra shook her head.

"I am not leaving yet." Syra stated. Dimitri sighed.

"I knew I was going to reget how specific that sentence was." He stated as grabbed Syra and leapt into the air. Angel followed behind the two as Talos turned back to Aiden. Both crouched and attacked. Talos was faster; he ducked his head under Aiden's chest and got his horns pressed against the larger dragon's underside. Talos reared on his hind legs and in turn brought Aiden to his hind legs as well. Talos' still on his hind legs, stepped back and spun around, jamming his elbow spikes in Aiden's cut up chest and actually tearing a chunk of flesh off. Talos found his feet again, but couldn't back away quick enough to dodge Aiden as the earth dragon dropped his forepaws and weight onto Talos' shoulder. The albino cursed as pain shot up his arm. Aiden grabbed Talos' forearm and bent it at a ninety degree angle. They both stared at the limb.

"That wasn't supposed to happen..." Aiden muttered as he stared at bent limb.

"My skeleton is metal." Talos stated through grit teeth. While it may not have broken, it still hurt. Snarling, Talos twisted and once more slammed his elbow spikes into Aiden's ribs. He snarled and pressed Talos harder into the ground. Talos' bones literally creaked and groaned under the pressure. Talos laughed as he felt a rib bend a little.

"I am the leader of the Albino Corp, you think that I will break so easily!?" Talos exclaimed as he turned around, rolled the two of them over and dug his claws into Aiden's face. With a hard yank and a ripping noise, Talos tore away some of the flesh that cover Aiden's face. "You have killed my team, who were also my _friends_. By the look on her face, you probably tormented Syra. You serve Spyro, the person who killed my friend. Now you're in trouble." Talos said as he stared at the earth dragon beneath him. Aiden looked up at Talos. The flesh that covered the left side of his face was missing. There was a hole were his cheek used to be, and Aiden's lounge explored that missing area.

"I am Spyro Corvo's Personal General and Bodyguard. Do you think that I can even feel pain?" Aiden stated as he let out an earth shot point-blank at Talos. Talos cursed as the earth shot sent him off of Aiden. The earth dragon got up to attack Talos. Aiden dropped his head and charged his oppenent. Talos jumped to his side, but the bent forearm casued him to fall over. Talos howled as Aiden's horns collided with his chest and sent him sprawling. Talos snarled as Aiden rushed forward and tried to ram him again, but at the last second he stopped, grabbed Talos, and butted him in the head.

_Clang!_ Even Aiden, with his apparent feel-no-pain ability, went a bit dizzy and staggered back. Talos slapped his head with his relatively uninjured paw and said, "Every freaking time..." Talos whipped his tail around and slammed against the uninjured side of Aiden's face. The blow didn't have any effect, for Aiden still rammed into Talos, but Aiden's whole face was now ruined.

"At least I can take comfort in the fact that you will never be pretty again." Talos said as Aiden grabbed Talos' throat and reared up on his hind legs. Aiden stood, his wings spread and tail held to provide the balance needed to stay standing, Talos hanging from his hand. Talos tried raking the claws on Aiden's torn gut, but it didn't work and Aiden just squeezed harder with his forepaw. Next was Talos started to smash at Aiden's legs and side with his tail spade, but Aiden pinned the tail spade under his foot, despite the spiked and metallic tail spade stabbing into his hind paw. Talos stared defiantly as Aiden brought his tail spade around and placed the tip over where Talos' heart was' The pale dragon stared at Aiden as he pulled his tail back, readying the stab that would end Talos' life. Talos continued to stare at Aiden; he thought to himself _Sorry Pyre, looks like I will be late._ Then all Talos saw was black. He felt a burning pain, and then saw a bright, white light.

_So this is death?_ Talos thought. He was wrong, because he found himself staring up at the sky. He was on his back. Talos rolled onto his feet and saw that he was outside of the Crags, in a dusty area with a few straggley trees around. The trees provided a bit of shadow. He looked around, wondering how he got there. When he was tackled to the ground by a green blur. Talos assumed that the blur was Aiden. Talos cursed very loudly and rolled to avoid being pinned again. It didn't quite work, and Aiden was on top and ready finally kill the albino. Beofore Aiden could tear out Talos' throat, a blast of shadow fire engulfed Aiden's face. The green dragon made no muffled noises of surprise or pain, but the distraction gave Talos to opratunty to knock off the earth dragon and pin him to the ground. The pale dragon raised his claws and slashed down at Aiden's throat, ready to finally kill his blinded oppenent.

"NOOO! STOP!" Syra screamed in a high-pitched and shrill voice. _That explains the shadow fire. _Talos thought to himself as Syra jumped and wrapped her limbs aroun Talos' forearm.

"What ever he did to you, yes I can see your fear of him, will go punished. And I will gladly kill him." Talos said as he flicked Syra off. Aiden tried the buck Talos off, but the albino slammed his spiked tail into Aidens hip. A pop signified the dislocation of Aiden's hip. Talos once more raised his wrist blades to impale Aiden.

"NOOOO! STOP!" Syra cried again as she tugged at Talos tail.

"WHY!?" Talos yelled at the hatchling.

"HE IS MY BROTHER!"

**A/N: Annnnddd... Cliff hanger! How many saw that coming? Come on, tell me. I won't be offended if you picked up on it. Sorry for the late update. Just like last week, I didn't have time to ship this off to my beta. And it was late. I am so ashamed.**

**Dimitri: The week was a busy one, there is no fault on your part.**

**Syra: You stink, you kept everyone waiting.**

** Well, I now know who likes me. Well, I hope that you liked this, sorry for the violence. I wanted to portray Aiden as moneterous, kinda like the Laughing Dead. If you know what I mean when I say that, good for you. If you don't, then find out. Hope you enjoyed it, leave a review and tell me how I did. And Unit, what did I say about your upsetness?**

**Till next time, keep your heads high up with your spirits.**

**SOLI DEO GLORIA**


	16. The Dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

**'Rofelam' is pronounced ruff-el-um**

Chapter Fifthteen: The Dream

The dream starts with me flying. I fly over the clouds and look down, seeing nothing but the sea. The dream always starts like this. Never any different. I continue to fly and then examine my body. I look the same as I did when I was fifthteen. Young, small, slim, weak. I ignore my age and continue to fly. I don't stop flying till I see a small, white castle on a cloud. I fly to the castle and over the portcullis and land in the courtyard. The whole outside of the castle, as well as the courtyard, was completely white, making me stick out like a sore thumb. I walk to the large double doors on the other end of the courtyard. It is, obviously, white and made of very thick wood. There are to gold knockers on it. The doors open themself as I walk to them. I pass the threshold, the doors closing behind me, and enter the main hall. There is a rich carpet on the floor; the right half was an earthy green, and the left half was ebony black. On both sides were paintings of dragons. Each picture was a portrait of a single dragon.

The first picture on the right was surprising. It was the guardian Terrador, but he was wearing ceremonial armor that had a crown instead of a helmet and one of his horns was broken in half. Underneath the frame said _'KING TERRADOR, BANE OF THE DARK BEAST'_. The next portrait was a young earth dragon, looking like the son of 'King' Terrador. On the other side of the hall was a portrait of a dragoness that looked much like me, but the tips her horns turn down instead of angle back like mine, her eyes were a pale blue, and her under belly was a soft pink. Next to her portrait was another dragoness, this one an electricity dragoness. These first paintings were the oldest; they got newer as they went along. It was always like this; there would be a male across from every female and vice versa. The dragons on the right all had a few general features, but all of the ones on the left never really looked the same. The line continued for quite a while. Every single painting looked more like the dragon itself was standing there. There were even thin strands of metal in the paintings, making look like the dragons breathed.

When I reach the end of the hall, I can now see two of newest paintings, almost looking like the paint was still wet. Under the male portrait said '_MASTER TERRADOR, GUARDIAN OF EARTH' _and under the female's, it was _'MASTER VARJA, GUARDIAN OF SHADOW'_. These are the two pictures that I question the most. They make no sense. Why are my enemies here? I don't have time to ponder, for the dream moves on.

There are two sets of double doors in front of me; one on the right, and one on the left. The one on the right is green, with the frame of the door being a simple and rich brown. I go to these doors and push them, but they are locked. I go the one on the left now. The door was made of ebony, and the doorframe was painted magenta. This one had decorative lines all over it, the lines resembling vines and such. I push this one, and it swings open on oiled hinges. I peer inside, and there she is. The dragoness looks like me, but has a more filled out frame compared to my serpentine one. Her horns turn straight up and are silver like mine. Her tail spade is also silver and shaped like mine, but was thinner and straighter. Her underbelly is magenta, and her eyes are a sapphire blue.

She was sleeping on a large pile of magenta pillows, and the room was painted black with a silver carpet. She seems to notice me, because she sits up and yawns. When she lets her eyes fall on me, she smiles. She curls in a circle, but leaves the space that she curled around empty. She looks at me again and pats the area she is curled around. Without hesitating I leap in the spot and curl myself in a ball. I rest my head on her ribs. She looks down and me, smiles, and sings a lullaby. I start to drift asleep, and before I fall asleep, I hear her say.

"Good night, my dear Cynder."

≤Ω≥

The dream starts out like always. I am flying above a mountain range. There is a bowl shaped area, where the mountains make a perfect circle with a grassy field inside. I look down and see my body; it was my body when I was fifthteen. Strangely enough, my scales weren't red, and I still had my gold colored tail blade. I ignore these things and look forward. The dream continues when I land in front of tower and look up at it. It was large, mostly because it was designed with dragons in mind. It was about six stories high, but there seemed to be more floors in construction. I push open the purple tinted door and enter the first floor.

In the center of the room was a statue of a dragon, his four limbs bent. He wore a coat with sleeves over his forearms; the tail of the coat fastened to his hindquarters the same way cloaks are; a strap that went around the hind leg and the hood was off of his head. The dragon looked a lot like me when I was much younger; when I was in my twenties. He had my original leaf-shaped spade, and he sported scars that I didn't. There were four scars starting at his cheek, traveling down the side of his neck, and over his shoulder; the scars on his shoulder was covered by the coat. The only color on this statue was the two chips of amethyst in the statue's eyes. At the base of the statue was a gold tinted plaque that read '_SPYRO LEGEND, LORD PROTECTER, THE FIRST BORN PURPLE DRAGON, UNRECORDED'_ I look around the tower and see the door that led to the stairwell. I walk into the stairwell and travel up a floor.

When I come out, there is another statue in the center, this one of two dragons, both twins. They stood back to back and sitting on their haunches; their tails pointing in opposite directions. They had the same seven horns, one in the middle and the largest, then two on either side starting at his temples and curving back. There were four horns on either side of the three horns. They both had halberd-like, black tail spades. Both had nuggets of gold in their eyes. There were to gold plaques at the bottom, one read_'MALEFOR RAIDILUS, THE BROTHER WHO FELL TO DARKNESS, SECOND BORN PURPLE DRAGON, FIRST RECORDED' _while the other read _'ROFELAM RAIDILUS, THE BROTHER WHO FELL TO LIGHT, THIRD BORN PURPLE DRAGON, SECOND RECORDED'. _This one puzzled me; my master never mentioned a brother. It didn't matter. It was time to move on.

I walk back into the stairwell and go up the steps till I reach the next floor. In this room was another statue of a dragon. His horns curl down slightly. The statue depicted a young adult, but he was still very muscular for his young age. There were two chips of purple-blue gems in the eyes. His tail-spade is like mine. He is laid down and had his upper body. He looked relaxed, laid back, happy; lazy. The gold plaque at the base read _'XAVIER CHARLAMANGE, THE UNCORRUPTABLE, FORUTH BORN PURPLE DRAGON, THIRD RECORDED' _I never liked this one; the dragon looks like he has a bit of a temper. I leave the room and go up another layer.

The statue on this layer was the only one that had an indication of color. It was on the wings. The left one was a lighter shade of grey then the rest of the statue, implying that it was white, while the other was a darker shade of grey than the rest of the statue, implying that it was black. The dragon was fairly standard size. He has three horns that sit on his head in the shape of a trident. By the corners of his eyes start several grooves, indicating lines. They started on both sides of his body and ended at his tail, his tail ending in a massive scimitar tail spade. His claws also interested me, because the index claw was much larger that all of the other claws, like this dragon was related to a raptor. There were chips of azure colored gems in his eyes. What was most interesting on this harlequin-like dragon was the red gem that sat in the middle of his forehead. The statue is leaning forward with his head tilted to the side, as if he was examining something. I was sure that this dragon was evidently the curious type. The plaque at the base said_'JEPO HARLEQUIN, LORD OF CONVEXITY, FIFTH BORN PURPLE DRAGON, FOURTH RECORDED' _I dwell here for a moment before moving up to the next floor.

This floor is the last before the top floor, then onto the roof. But the dream never goes that far. The statue in this room stands like he is standing over a fallen comrade with a defensive look on his face. The dragon has horns that zigzag up like lightning, a slight streak going from the base of his back and to the tail-tip. His tail-blade is shaped like a sword's blade. The plaque at the bottom read '_ARXAD COSAINT, DEFENDER OF ALL, SIXTH BORN PURPLE DRAGON, FIFTH RECORDED'_. It is time for the last floor; my least favorite.

I go up the stairs and come face to face with the one statue that unnerves me. The statue stood with his forepaws spread apart. The statue is large and looking down at the viewer. His face is blank of emotion, but his eyes are cold and emotionless, no, they are soulless. Even more so than Malefor's, and this dragon himself is more of a threat then my master. The most unnerving part? The statue had the same horns as I, the same tail blade, the same wings, the same everything. The plaque was different than the rest; instead of having the name, title, then the rest, the name and title came last. It read, with each title getting more and more ragged and deep then the one before, '_SEVENTH BORN PURPLE DRAGON, SIXTH RECORDED, THE FALLEN SAVIOR, THE TERROR OF THE LANDS, THE DISHONNORED WARRIOR, THE DEMON CLAD IN FLESH, THE KING OF TRYANNY, THE KILLER OF HOPE, THE DEMENTED HEART, THE SOULESS ONE, THE COMING STORM, THE BLOOD SPLASHED CLAW, THE BITING BLADE, THE FELL BEAST, THE SHADOW OF DEATH, THE REAPER OF LIVES, DEATH HIMSELF… SPYRO CORVO'._ It was me.

**A/N: I do not own Axard, Jepo, or Xavier. They are owned by Memmola, Dragon. Of. Chaos97 and DementedStamPunkDoll Frost, in that order.**

**SOLI DEO GLORIA**


	17. The In Between Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise or Talos or Terra, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter Sixteen: The In-between Time

"What?" Talos asked as he stared at Syra. She had left tugging his tail when he turned to look at her. She was now hugging Aiden's shadow covered head.

"He is my brother..." Syra stated again as she continued to cradle Aiden's head. "Don't kill him, please." She said as Aiden began to thrash because of lack of air. Talos stared at the dragon and sighed. He stepped off of the dragon and used his mouth to pick up Syra by the scruff of her neck.

"Fine." Talos mumbled through his hold on Syra. But the hatchling's face still brightened as he said that Aiden would be spared. She twisted her way out of Talos' hold and hugged his head.

"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Syra said as she squeezed Talos' muzzle with her forelegs. The albino tossed his head, and Syra slid down his neck to lie across his shoulders.

"But he will still die from blood loss. I don't see much of a difference." Talos stated as he walked back toward the Crags.

"You will." Syra said mysteriously as they walked away. "Uh, why are we going back?" Syra asked as she realized that they were going the wrong direction.

"I am getting my cloak." Talos replied as he continued to walk.

"Why?" Syra asked, too curious for her own good.

"I want to." Syra would have protested, but thought that by the time they got back, it would've been done.

"Okay." She said and settled herself on Talos' back. The albino was disturbed by her willingness, but he really wanted his cloak back. It took about thirty minutes to get there, get the cloak, and get back. Along the way, they found a cluster of spirit gems. They used the red gems to heal Talos, the magic somehow bending his arm back into place, but he won't complain. But when they got back to where Aiden's dead body was supposed to be, Talos had to stare in disbelief. The large green dragon lay as he did before, but there was no sign of any damage. At all. He had completely healed.

"What the hell...?" Talos said as he stared at the unconscious and completely healed dragon.

"Told you he would be fine." Syra said with a smug smile as she stared at her apparent brother. "Don't ask, I won't tell." Syra said. Talos nodded and moved to go to the temple. They flew in silence until Dimitri and Angel swooped down by their sides.

"Syra! Why did you go?" Dimitri asked with twinges of concern at the edges of his voice. Angel stared down at the hatchling.

"Answers, young one?" She asked. Syra smiled.

"I said that I didn't want to leave," Syra said. "So I went back, and kept Talos from killing Aiden." She replied, causing Dimitri's eyes to widen a bit.

"What? The general of Spyro Corvo, and you kept him alive?" Dimitri asked incredulously. Syra shrugged.

"Don't ask, I won't tell." She stated as she hopped on Dimitri's back.

"And away with me!" Syra said as Dimitri lifted off and flew away.

≤Ω≥

The group flew for a while, and it was several hours till they reached the edges of the swamp. They took a break, landing at the marshes and resting. They stayed there, till a patrol passed by. The patrol was made up of Albino dragons, all of them wearing a form of armor; leather, plate, mail, and the likes. They were originally hostile, but as soon as they saw Talos, they all relented.

"I didn't expect to see you back so soon." the leader of the patrol said the Talos. "Though we thought that you would go back to base first."

"I have things that I need to do here." Talos replied as the mercenary led them back to the temple.

"Something you might like to know; a bunch of dragonesses arrived with us. They refused to be left behind."

"What do you know about them?" Talos asked, a bit of hope mixed with worry rising.

"Not much. They looked like an earth, ice, wind, and a fire dragoness. The fire one was gravid." The mercenary reported. Talos cursed and rejoiced in his mind, both at the same time. There was both a sense of apprehension, as well as sense impatience to get to the temple.

It was a while before they got to the Temple. As they got closer and closer, more and more albinos began to appear. They looked to Talos, some bowing, others nodding, but all showing a form of respect. Some of them ran off to inform Ignitus of the group's arrival. When they got to the temple entrance, they were not greeted by Ignitus, but by another fire dragoness; Lady Sarah was standing by her side. Her scales were red, and she had six horns that curled back. Her tail spade was a thin needle, and there was a birth mark of a flame on her shoulder. She was highly curvy as was considered attractive for dragons but said curves were thrown off by a round and bulging stomach, a sign of her being pregnant. As soon as she saw Talos, her face lit up with a smile.

"Talos!" She yelled as she stood up and tried to run to him, but with her bulging gut, all she could do was a fast waddle. When she got close enough, she launched herself at the pale dragon. Talos laughed as he let himself fall on his back and be tackled by the dragoness.

"Miss me, Pyre?" Talos said with a rare grin. Everyone else stared at the two dragons, not knowing what to think. They were really surprised when Talos leaned forward and kissed the dragoness, whose name was Pyre. Pyre kissed back before she realized that they were surrounded by other dragons, all who were staring at them.

"EEP!" She squeaked out, trying to hide her face. This elected an even rarer, near hysterical laugh from Talos. The albino folded both of his sets of wings over Pyre, hiding her.

"You have a mate? And a fat one?" Syra asked as she stared the albino captain.

"Yes. Is that so surprising? And she is pregnant!" Talos threw back, upset at the unintended insult to his mate. Syra rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She said as she walked to the temple.

"SYRA!" Connor yelled as he barreled out of the Temple and walked angrily towards Syra. "Shoot." She said as she turned to run, but instead ran into Dimitri.

"What is wrong?" Dimitri asked as Connor got closer and closer.

"Well, you see, I kinda whacked Connor on the head so he couldn't protest when I left." Syra admitted. Before she could run off again, Connor reached them and grabbed her, tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her away, berating her along the way. Talos was happy, Syra was in trouble. But his amusement dropped when he saw three other dragonesses standing in the doorway to the temple. Pyre seemed to notice.

"What's wrong?" She asked him. One of Talos' wings was covering her head.

"I have business to tend to." Talos said as he stood and helped Pyre to her feet. The dragoness leaned against him as they walked back to the Temple entrance. Talos felt guilty, enjoying his loved one when the three females will so soon learn of the loss of theirs.

"Greetings, Talos. I may sound impatient when I say this, but I would like to see my son now." The ice dragoness said with a curt nod. This was Derees, mother of the late Noubell. The earth dragon by her side smiled sweetly. Furost, Noubell's betrothed "W-we have a wedding to plan." She said as she blushed and smiled. The third female looked at Talos with an upset look.

"I would like to see my mate as well. You always are dragging him off." She said. This was Sephia, Brutus' mate. "My child is back at home. She couldn't make it this time." She stated and glared at Talos. She didn't not like Talos because he was an albino, Sephia just didn't like him.

_Dang Ancestors, why do they have to make this harder? _Talos thought to himself as he thought of his task of reporting the dead to their families. He sighed. "There is something we need to talk about; you might want some privacy."

≤Ω≥

"WHAT!?" Spyro yelled as he stared down Aiden. They were back at Spes Morte, the tower in Concurrent Skies. Aiden stood in the war room with Gahiji by his side, the same war room that Gahiji was smacked around in. Cynder was not present, only Hunter. "You lost Syra, AND Angel?! How could you fail like that?!" Spyro raged at Aiden and Gahiji. Aiden was as emotionless as always, but Gahiji turned his head up at the mention of his failure.

"I am sorry that I couldn't capture a hatchling, which had an army of panthers and six trained dragons on her side." Gahiji said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Spyro's head snapped to the source of the jackal's voice. The jackal had no time to clean himself before he made his way to Concurrent Skies. He still had blood covering his face and body. The jackal looked back up at Spyro, somewhat hoping he wouldn't get another thrashing from Spyro. The purple dragon looked down at the blood covered jackal.

"Go clean yourself, and then I will deal with you. Hunter, escort him to the washroom." Spyro said and motioned for the two of them to leave. Hunter nodded and escorted Gahiji out. As soon as the large double doors of the war room closed, Spyro's angry façade dropped. The now perfectly calm dragon went over to his cushion and grabbed the scroll that was on it. He opened it and began to read silently, leaving Aiden standing stark still. When Spyro was done, he looked up at Aiden, his near black eyes soulless and calculating.

"Aiden, tell me, what happened at the Crags, most specifically when you lost Angel." Spyro commanded of his personal general.

"Yes, Master Spyro. When I went into the pit, I was ambushed by albinos, and they then beat me down. I was able to recover, more or less, and then attacked again. I was beaten once again, and Angel and Syra escaped." Aiden reported. "What will my punishment be?" Spyro regarded him for a minute.

"In your report, you identify the albinos as part of the Albino Corp, and that they were known by the names of Collie, Border, Noubell, Brutus, and Talos. Those five dragon have succeeded in every mission they were every sent out against; a thorn in my side for the last ten years. And you killed them all, except for Talos." Spyro stated still sitting on his cushion. "Why did you leave this out of your verbal report?"

"I thought that it was irrelevant." Aiden said. Spyro looked to him.

"You have removed one of the biggest thorns in my side since the guardians going into hiding. I should thank you." Spyro stated.

"But I still failed to keep Angel detained. I still deserve punishment." Aiden stated. The dark purple dragon looked to him, this time, arching a brow.

"You have a point that was already reviewed. You have failed by losing the guardian of wind, but you have gained by removing Talos' little A-team. You deserve neither reward, nor punishment. Go now." Spyro said as he stood and studied the map. He noticed that Aiden was still unmoving. "Permission granted." Spyro said, knowing that Aiden was planning to ask to talk.

"Sir, Syra prevented my death by saying that she was my sister. Is this true?" Aiden asked Spyro. The purple dragon was silent for a moment.

"Cynder has trained Syra in the art of deception and stealth. The child is willing to say whatever is necessary for her own benefit." Spyro said, his eye not leaving the map in the war room. Aiden nodded with a 'yes sir', and waited to be dismissed. Just before he left, Spyro called out, "Send Backlash over." When Spyro did, Aiden turned and walked uniformly out of the war room. The purple dragon stared at the map, but his mind was running through other plans that didn't involve the ruling of the Dragon Realms. _Aiden is suspicious. I need a way to bring his loyalty back._ Spyro thought to himself. He stood there, planning and thinking till the sound of the door opening interrupted him.

"I was summoned, master."

"Yes, you were. How do you feel about Dante's Freezer?"

≤Ω≥

Talos sighed as he laid his head down on Pyre's shoulder. He was curled around his mate. Both of them were grieved; after Talos broke the news of Brutus and Noubell's death, Derees, Furost, and Sephia all broke down in tears. Talos left the three dragonesses to mourn, knowing full well that he would have to very soon face their blame. Now he lay with his own mate, feeling nothing but guilt. Why should he be enjoying his mate, when there are three others that will never be able to again? He couldn't stand it anymore. The pale dragon got up, hoping not to rouse Pyre. He didn't, so he made his way to the door. He opened it and stepped out of the room. Talos then curled himself around at door. It was unfair. Why should he enjoy his mate? Not tonight, he wouldn't.

He had almost fallen asleep when the sound of claws clacking off of the stone floors roused him. Talos looked up and saw that Dimitri was coming to him. The White Knight stopped for a second; curious as to why the albino was sleeping outside his own room. Dimitri seemed to not care right now as he walked up to Talos.

"Captain Talos. I need a favor." Dimitri asked as he stopped in front of the mercenary. Talos regarded him for a bit.

"What is in it for me?" Talos asked the young knight. Dimitri thought for a bit.

"There is nothing I can offer you. I asked for a favor. Would you help me?" Talos thought for minute.

"What is it?"

"I need you to train Syra."

≤Ω≥

Gahiji had just finished washing himself. He had to get himself a new set of clothes. He now wore a dark purple, metal cuirass with a long sleeved undershirt made from black wool. On his legs he wore a simple pair of black trousers. The jackal examined himself more closely for the first time since he had gotten to the Dragon Realms.

With out his armor on, Gahiji was a tannish reddish color. Like all jackals, his whole back was black with speckles of black. He was average height for a jackal, but he was thinner than usual. But with all of his military training, his thin frame was as strong as any other soldiers. His eyes were black, and seemed to resemble black river stones. The jackal looked away and went back to the room that was provided for him. When he got here, there was a pantheress and an ape waiting by his door. Gahiji noticed that the ape's left ear had been chewed off.

"What do you want, female?" Gahiji asked as he stepped up to them. _What was her name again, it was… Terra._ Gahiji thought to himself as he stared down the pantheress, but he hadn't seen the ape before. She looked down to her paws, obviously shy.

"T-there was a letter for you. I volunteered to bring it to you." Terra told him as she held out her hand and offered him piece of parchment. It was sealed with a wax _ankh_. There was the faint scent of cinnamon and jasmine. Gahiji snatched it out of Terra's hands.

"Leave." He growled at her. Terra seemed taken aback. She gave a curtsey and walked briskly away. But before the ape left, he gave Gahiji a smug look. It was the same kinda of look that one would give a race horse that they were betting on if it were winning. Gahiji stepped into his room and closed the door. His room was a simple design. It was a single room that had a bed off in the corner. There was a desk off against the left wall, one that had a few pieces of parchment and writing utensils on it. Gahiji stepped to the desk and sat down, opening the letter with a claw. The contents spilled out, a necklace of a sun, a vile of sweet smelling perfume, and a letter that was written in the native language of the jackals. The letter read:

_Dear Gahiji,_

_ Hello. It has been a while since you have last gotten a letter from me. I guess you can only blame to overseas travel, right? Things have been going alright here. I asked your father if he wanted to send you anything, but he was as indifferent as always. Your sister was different. She sent you the necklace. She said that it was your mother's, and that you might wear it to remember her. I sent you the vile. It holds some of my favorite perfume, the one you say that you like the most. I thought that it would remind you of me._

_ I do not really understand why your father sent you to be the ambassador, you are a warrior. My bed has been cold and empty since you left. I miss you. I want you to come home. I know you never made friends, or had a good relation with your father, but there is still me here, and Acenath. I can't help but think that you accepted the position just to get away from everyone, including me. I will say it again, I miss. It is strange, we were an arranged marriage, and now I cannot live without you. I hope that you can come home soon, before the baby is born._

_ I felt him kick a few days ago. The priests say that the pup is going to be a son. I know you wanted a daughter, but still, a son; an heir. Is that not something to be rejoiced? I still have a while till I give birth, then we will know for sure. What should we name him? How about Adofo? Doesn't that mean fighter?_

_ That is all I can think to say for now, but I am sure that as soon as this letter leaves my hand, I will think of something else to tell you. Oh well, I guess you will hear of it in my next letter. Till the next time. I was thinking about planning a way to go over there, and be with you while you are there. What do you think?_

_Your loving wife and mate,_

_Femi_

Gahiji smiled as he read the letter. _Femi, you always worry about me._ He thought himself as he set down the letter and picked up the vile of perfume. He uncorked it, and smelled the scent of cinnamon and jasmine came up to meet his nose. Gahiji took in a deep breath, imagining that he smelt his mate, and not just the perfume. Setting down the vile, he picked up the necklace and examined it. The sun, to Mesirians, represented light, warmth, and growth. It was very important in their culture. The necklace was a simple leather cord, and sun at the end was made from gold. He slipped it over his head, and thought of his mother. She had passed away a long time ago, so he and his sister, Acenath, were raised mostly by his father. But his father was very busy, and had little time for his children. But the time he did have was devoted to them and them alone. Gahiji picked up a pen and inkwell, a blank piece of parchment, and began to write.

_Dear Femi,_

_ It may be a while for your letters to get to me, but Lady Cynder has provided dreadwings for correspondence with my home. Things here have been, problematic. I may have almost started a civil war between panthers. You are right, I am not an ambassador, and I hate that I accepted the offer. I know very little of politics, only that I am supposed to represent Mesir. I do not know if I have done so as I should. Thank you for the perfume. It does make me think of you, and for that alone I am happy. The necklace, I will wear every day. Tell Acenath that I am thankful of her as well. It must have been something for her to part with it._

_ My father says that I need to learn, that I cannot always see things from a martial view. I guess that he is right, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. I miss you as well. It is cold and wet here, and so different from my familiar painted dessert. But everything in this land is so strange. It as if in some places, it is purely an oasis, and in others it is like Mesir. Do not worry, Femi. I miss you the most. My bed is cold and lonely too, and I cannot wait to get back to you._

_ I am sorry, but I don't think that I will be able to make it back in time to see our son born. But Adofo, that sounds like a strong name. He will be strong, and I am sure he will have your kind heart. And a son does not disappoint me. I am only glad that we will soon have a family ourselves._

_ All I can do now is to wait till I come home. And I will wait impatiently. I miss you, more then I can say. Goodbye for now._

_Your loving husband and mate,_

_Gahiji._

≤Ω≥

Syra groaned as she stared at her red tinged hind end. Connor had punished her for running off by spanking her. It was more embarrassing then it was painful. She got up and decided to find Dimitri. She started to walk around, looking for the white knight. When she found him, he was in the middle of training against several dummies. The four dummies were all fashioned after ape leaders. Two had clubs, one a sword, and the last an axe. Dimitri only had his blade sheath. They all stood around him in a loose circle, waiting for the mental command to attack. When it came, things happened quickly.

The two with the clubs launched themselves at Dimitri. The dragon spun to face them, his tail going stiff and impaling one while a burst of icicles shredded the second. The one with the axe charged Dimitri next. The young knight turned and ducked his shoulder; the dummy ran into his shoulder and staggered back a bit, giving Dimitri time to tackle it down. Before Dimitri could issue the strike that would disassemble the dummy, the one with the sword attacked. Dimitri rolled forward and avoided the blow. He then jumps backward and spins around, lashing out with his bladed tail spade and slashed the sword wielding dummy across the chest. The one with the axe is back up, and tries to get Dimitri with an over hand blow. Dimitri covers himself in a dome of ice. The two dummies tried to bash open the dome, but it didn't matter because the dome exploded in shards ice that sent the dummies flying. Dimitri leapt upon the sword wielding dummy and stabbed it through the head with his claws, turning around and sending a large icicle in the last dummy, and impaling it. All of the dummies dissolved into straw and wood, the remains fading into the ground.

"Hello, Syra. How have you been?" Dimitri asked as he slipped his blade sheath into its sheath, which was fastened to his hind leg. Syra was a little surprised that Dimitri had noticed her appearance; he seemed to be focused on his training.

"My rump and pride could be better, but that is it really." Syra stated as she looked to Dimitri. The White Knight raised his eyebrow. "Connor decided that I needed a spanking." Syra explained. "It stings now…" Syra observed as she stared at her rump.

Dimitri walked over to here. He sat down by her said and offered her a chunk of ice. She took it and pressed it against the sore area, sighing as the pain numbed. The whole situation was kinda awkward. The ice dragon finally spoke up.

"Next time, make sure that Connor is okay with you tagging along." Dimitri stated.

"It's not like it's my fault he over reacted."

"You knocked him out and ran away to some where very dangerous. He _under_ reacted."

"… Still not my fault…" Dimitri just laughed at Syra's statement.

**A/N: And here this chapter is. IT took me several days to complete, but life got in the way and I haven't updated on two weeks. Yikes. Sorry for that. This chapter was kinda everywhere. Not much to say except that I do not own Pyre, she belongs to Dragon. Of. Chaos97. That is that. See you next week.**

**SOLI DEO GLORIA**


	18. The Attempt

**A/N: Hello, all of my faithful readers! Haven't had an A/N in a while, now have I? Well, I always put these things in here for a reason. Right now, I want to thank everybody who has reviewed my story. You words of advice and complements are what encourage me to sit down, devout my time and effort, and write another chapter for you guys. You are the reason I have 2000 plus views to my story. I would like all of you to know, I appreciate every review you give, and love to hear your opinions. To those who haven't reviewed, please drop one, and I will personally thank you via PM, and might answer any questions you pose. Well, that took up enough time; I guess I should move onto the chapter. TO sum this note up, thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise or Talos, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter 17: The Attempt

Syra was dosing peacefully, lying in the room that the guardians had provided for her and Connor. The old wolf had insisted that they share a room, saying that he swore to protect her and wouldn't let anything he could control separate them. Syra didn't argue; she likes to have someone to sleep with her. Right now, she was sprawled on top of Connor's legs. The wolf had removed his weapon-covered harness and coat and slept on the ground. The both dozed peacefully, until Talos came in. He didn't mess around as he used his teeth to pick her up by the scruff of her neck.

"Hey!" Syra protested, waking instantly. "What's the big idea, creamy?" She snapped at Talos, using one of the slang words for albinos. He ignored her comment and carried her away. "Put me down!" Talos simply ignored the hatchling and continued on. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to no avail. Syra grumbled as she curled herself in a ball and waited for Talos to let her down. They stopped when they arrived at the training dojo. Dimitri was already there, and he had his blade sheath strapped to his hind-quarter. Talos dropped Syra, not bothering to set her down. She squealed and tried to breathe shadow-fire at the ground, so she could shift through it, but a blast of fear came out instead. She landed on her butt with a soft thump, and looked at Talos dejectedly,

"Why did you wake me up?" She complained at the larger dragon.

"I asked him to train you. Dimitri stated as he looked at the hatchling. "Why?" She whined out like the child she was. "You must be able to defend yourself in these times. This will help you." The White Knight explained.

"Fine, but don't expect me to like it or thank you later." Syra said as the statue lowered itself and she walked into the center. Talos stared for a second before looking to Dimitri. "Get in there with her; you two are sparring."

"What?!" Dimitri exclaimed as he looked to the older dragon."But I am older then her and larger then her. She won't stand a chance." Dimitri tried to reason with Talos.

"Then go easy on her or something. You have no idea how well she can fight. She handled herself pretty well back at the Crags." Talos stated as he shoved the ice dragon into the ring with Syra. "Have at each other. Use any means necessary to take down your opponent." Talos stated mercilessly. Dimitri sighed and took a defensive position, still opposed to the idea of fighting Syra. She had no such restraints.

Syra shifted through the shadows at her side, launching herself out of the shadows at Dimitri's back and landing on him. Trying to form shadow gauntlets on her hands, Syra instead had fear energy coating her claws. _When life gives you a dagger, stab you captor, _Syra repeated in her head, a phrase she had heard used quite a bit. She raked slashed her claws across the back on Dimitri's neck, but her smaller and under-developed claws were only enough to nick the skin under his scales. That was enough for her fear to get into Dimitri and infect his mind.

The young knight couldn't tell what was going on now; as soon as Syra scratched him, his world exploded into hazy images, every image forming something horrifying. He began to jump at the slightest thing, not knowing what was moving and what was still. All the while, Scourge was at the forefront of his mind.

_"What are you doing!?" _He screamed in Dimitri's mind. _"It is just an illusion; push it away!" _Dimitri tried to do such, and the illusions lessened and began to conform to reality. _"That's right! Push it away like you push me to recesses of your mind!"_Scourge yelled at Dimitri, sounding more angered then encouraging. His vision finally returned to normal, and he realized that he was covered in scratches and cuts. They were all small and only stung a little. He didn't have time to question it before Syra tried to tackle him. She wasn't aware that her fear magic had worn off.

Dimitri didn't move as Syra rammed against him, instead she staggered back, surprised that he hadn't been sent stumbling. Dimitri didn't waste time. He turned to her and smacked her side with his tail spade, making sure that he was pushing her more than hitting her. Syra stumbled and fell over, allowing Dimitri to leap at her and pin her to the ground with a paw pressed firmly on her chest.

"Yield." the white dragon said to Syra as he put only enough pressure to pin her to the ground, but not enough to hurt. She whimpered and teared up a bit as she was held down. Dimitri felt sorry for her, and let a bit of the pressure off of her chest. Syra took the opportunity and lunged her head forward and latch her teeth around his shoulder, jabbing her tail spade into Dimitri's paw before sending jolts of shadow fire down it and breathing fire out of her maw. She was trying for actual fire with her tail, but she had to use what she had. Dimitri grunted and stepped back at the sudden flares of pain, using his ice breath to freeze Syra to the ground. She planned to use fire to melt the ice, but instead fear came out and did nothing. She sighed.

"I yield." Syra muttered as she lay on the ground. Dimitri walked up and removed the ice, helping her up and apologizing for hurting her. She was still sour, and just shrugged Dimitri's apologizes off. "There, was that enough? Can I go back to sleep?" Syra said sourly to Talos. The pale dragon shook his head and motioned for her to go back to the circle.

"Get back to training. Spar with Dimitri, but no elements." Syra sighed. This was going to be a long morning.

≤Ω≥

Aiden walked through the hallways of _Spes Morte_, the tower at Concurrent Skies. He walked along the long and dark corridors, only his thoughts and the sound of his clicking claws to keep him company. Like always, Aiden thought that this is what a ghost must feel like. He felt not a single thing as he trod along the walkway; not the cold of the or smoothness of the stone, not the rain leaking from the windows and splashing against him, not even the shard of broken glass that he had accidently gotten stuck in his foot earlier. But right now was one of the times that he was almost thankful for this condition. He felt nothing at all, so nothing distracted him from thinking.

Spyro had always said that Syra was just another orphaned hatchling that he had found. His master had said that Syra could take a lot, and to not go easy on her in training; that it was for her own good. But she had said that he was her brother. Why would she try to save him? He had not given her any leeway when Spyro told him to 'spar' with her. What was there to gain? And after she had said that, Aiden began to have memories of things he never did. These memories were of him and Syra; he was curled around Syra, humming to her and comforting her. There was one in particular, one that disturbed him. But it was like a dream; you knew it was there, but you couldn't remember what. The only things he would remember were the taste of someone's blood, and then searing pain. Yes, Aiden did know what pain felt like. He wasn't born without it, he just, lost it.

Was Spyro lying, or was Syra? Usually, the answer would be obvious. But actions speak louder than words, and Syra's claim of family, supported by saving him, planted a seed, one that was quickly budding. Aiden gave a snort and tossed his head, trying to shake the thoughts of Spyro not being the dragon that Aiden thought he was. Some people thought that Aiden stayed with the Fallen Savior because Spyro had a hold on him; a kidnapped family member, blackmail, dark magic. The truth was that Aiden served the purple dragon, because Spyro was like a father to him; albeit a father that didn't care much for him. Spyro never cared for that Aiden looked up to him and modeled himself after the purple dragon. It was out the affection that a son has for his father that Aiden served. The dark green dragon was abandoned and alone when he was found by Spyro and the purple was the one to bring him to _Spes Morte_ and look after him. His life was far from easy, but in the end, Aiden was thankful of Spyro, and grew attached to him. The bodyguard snorted again as he thought of his most recent failure.

Spyro should have punished him. He had failed. But he had also removed a large thorn from his master's side. The logic was simple. Some may say that it was strange for the Terror of the Lands to let Aiden go. It wasn't; Spyro may act hot-headed and easily provoked, but he was, in reality, cold and calculating and always calm. Aiden was woken from his thinking when he saw the door to his room appear. It was a full moon, and he wanted what was to come very soon.

He pushed the door open and walked into his personal chambers. It was a room that gave utter privacy to the one who lives in it. There was the main room that also acted as Aiden's armory and trophy room. There were the pieces of armor of major enemies that he had defeated lining the walls, one of the most recent being the cape of Chief Prowlus, a cheetah leader that he had defeated. The said cheetah was now in the dungeons of Warfang. There was a door across from him that led to the sleeping chambers, and in the center of the room was a table with a key on it. On the left and right sides of the room were alcoves; the one on the right that had maps and plans lining its walls; he was to get more plans from Spyro later that night. The left alcove had a cushion, and a dragoness was lying on the cushion. She was curled in a tight ball, with her head on the stone floor. There was an iron collar around her neck with a chain attached to it; the chain was attached to the wall.

The dragoness was a midnight blue with a silver underbelly, horns, wings, and tail spade. She had horns that were shaped like katana blades, but were much thicker and not made for cutting. Her tail spade was a similar, katana blade shape. She was larger and thicker than the regular female, and had what many considered to be the body of a thin male. She was not really considered attractive by most males at her home town. But now, she was Aiden's personal servant.

When Aiden walked in, she looked to the ground and avoided eye contact. He never wanted a slave, but Spyro gave her to him. She had entered his service a year or so ago. Aiden had raided a town, and she was one of the guards; he was told to execute all the guards, but convinced Spyro to spare most of them. The female was one of the spared, and Spyro said that Aiden would have to watch after her. He didn't use her for much, but he had found a very nice use for her a few months after she had been enslaved.

The green dragon pulled the shard of glass out of his hand and healed it with a red gem. He then turned to the female.

"Keeja, did you get the potion?" Aiden asked her. Keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, Keeja replied by saying "Yes, master. It is on your bedside table." She said as she stared at the ground between her paws. Aiden walked past the table, grabbing the key along the way. He stopped in front of Keeja and undid her collar.

"Come." He said as he walked into the room. Keeja knew that it was full moon, and knew what that implied. She got up and followed him into the room, nervousness dogging her footsteps and mind. Aiden's sleeping room was simple; it was just a large, round bed in the center of the room with a small table by it. On the table was a vial of a light bluish liquid that had the texture of cream. Keeja walked up and grabbed the vial, turning and handing it to Aiden. He caught her paw, bringing his other paw around and pulling the vial from her paw, but still held her paw in his own. Aiden removed the cork with his teeth and downed contents.

The green dragon shivered a bit as he felt the potion slip through his throat. But he loved this; _he felt it_. The stone beneath his feet was cold and smooth, and the slight draft pushing against his damp scales was also cold. There was warmth emanating from where his paw is, warmth that came from Keeja's paw. Aiden smiled down at her; she wasn't that much smaller than her. Placing down the vial, he brought his free paw up and stroked it across Keeja's cheek. The green reveled in the feel of her warm scales. She shivered slightly as sensations passed through her body, whether they are good or bad, she couldn't tell.

"Come, it is time to retire." Aiden said and motioned to the bed in the center. Keeja shivered slightly as she climbed on the bed and curled herself in a tight circle. Aiden stepped on after her and curled around her, wrapping a foreleg around her chest and forcing her to stretch out of her tight ball. His other arm wormed under her and wrapped around her waist, pulling her so that her back was pressed tight against his chest. Aiden's tail wrapped around Keeja's and gave it a gentle squeeze. The larger green sighed contently as the warm and relaxing sensations flooded his systems and he rubbed his cheek against Keeja's neck. It was like how an alcoholic felt like after all day without a drink.

The dragoness whimpered slightly, trying to fight off similar feelings. She couldn't stop a contended sigh as Aiden began to kiss and nibble at the spot where her collar used to be. Aiden did this every full moon. It was almost like he was addicted to the feelings that holding Keeja gave him. He lay there, tending to her neck and holding her for a while before he began to talk, telling Keeja of everything that had been on his mind recently. He ended by saying: "Spyro has been like a father to me for as long as I could remember. He sees no point in lying to me, but then again, what personal gain could Syra have?" He didn't expect Keeja to answer, he just need someone to talk to. He sighed and spoke again.

"I do not know what to do. My mind is telling me to Syra has nothing to gain, and is my sister, but my soul says that Spyro would never lead me astray. What do I follow? Logic or faith? A feeling or a fact?" Aiden mused as he laid his head across Keeja's neck. The midnight blue dragon thought for a moment.

"Perhaps Spyro is not the angel you think that he is." Keeja stated, hoping that Aiden wouldn't be upset. What would have made her master very angry now only made him sigh sadly.

"No, it is not that. Perhaps it is. I don't know." Aiden said and sighed sadly, his grip on her loosening.

"Is there something I can do to make my master happier?" Keeja asked, her compassion showing through. Aiden was quiet for a bit before replying.

"Be calm." The green dragon said as he placed a paw on her chin and moved her face so that she was looking at him. Before she could ask what he meant, Aiden surprised her by leaning forward and kissing her. It was something that he had never done before, a kiss. It was like nothing he had ever felt before; even when he did have his feeling. It was like every pleasurable feeling he had ever felt, all compiled together and sent throughout every part of his body. That, and the feelings he was already feeling by holding Keeja was multiplied tenfold.

Keeja's whole body tensed at the unexpected contact, squeaking a bit in surprise. She sat rigid for only a moment before her whole body relaxed. She let out a small moan as Aiden's paws began to gently massage her stomach, and she leaned into the kiss, closing her eyes along the way. Aiden purred back at her, holding the contact till he had to pull away from her. Keeja let out a small whimper as Aiden pulled away, both dragons letting out throaty purrs with every breath. Aiden curled his neck around hers and lay back down.

"Sleep, Keeja." The green dragon said as he closed his eyes and rested.

"Yes, master." Keeja said as she too closed her eyes and went to sleep.

≤Ω≥

Syra panted as she lay in the dojo floor, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. The statue _finally_ rose from the ground. "We are done." Talos said as he walked away. Since there was no one around, Syra thought it was a good time to answer a question that Talos had asked a long time ago.

"He can't feel a single thing." Syra panted out. Talos stopped and looked back.

"What?"

"At the Crags, you asked what price Aiden paid to be able to stay standing, although the more appropriate question would be 'what was forced onto him'." Before Talos could question Syra about this, she continued. "He can't feel a single thing, not even the food going down his throat. Not even when he is out of breath. Not a single thing. That and he can barely use his element." Syra stated as she stood up and stumbled away. "The gains do not balance the losses. I have learned this too soon." Syra said as she walked away.

_What the hell happened to that girl?_ Talos thought to himself

≤Ω≥

Aiden was roused by the sound of something falling off the table in his room. He opened his eyes and saw three strange dragons; a brown on, an orange one and a teal one. The first thing that Aiden did was launch himself and tackle the teal one. Keeja shrieked at the sudden wakening. She screamed even further as the orange dragon smacked her and stepped on her throat, choking her. Aiden saw this and snarled, letting out an earth shot and sending that dragon rolling. The remaining, brown one ran into Aiden and used an earth shot on him and sent him flying into his armory. Aiden groaned as he remembered what pain felt like. The brown dragon charged Aiden, dropping his head so he could ram the downed general. Aiden tried to move, but the pain caused him to wince and hesitate a second. That was enough time for the brown to ram his horns into Aiden's chest.

Aiden grabbed the horns and muscled the brown to the side, flipping him the ground and slashing him across the chest. It was supposed to be a slash across the throat, but the pain made his limbs shake and made him miss. The orange dragon still in the room shot a fireball, one that collided with Aiden's side and sent him flying. The green slammed against the door, and the teal dragon rushed at him. Aiden was quicker to react this time, using his tail to open the door; Aiden grabbed the teal's shoulders and threw the teal dragon over himself, using an earth shot to send the dragon flying. Aiden felt his elemental stores lowering, only enough now for four more earth shots. The two remaining dragons rammed him into the hallway. The brown one stomped down on Aiden's neck. Spyro's bodyguard choked and gasped, only for the orange dragon to dig his teeth into Aiden's arm and tear a chunk out.

_I hope this works..._ Aiden thought to himself as he tried to focus his earth element on the floor at his back. To small pillars popped out the ground and rammed into the guts of the dragon that were holding him down. Aiden used his forepaw to grab the orange and slammed his snout into the stone pillar. Aiden then rolled to his feet and lunged at the brown, latching his jaws around the brown's shoulder and slamming him against the wall. The teal leapt on Aiden's back and stabbed him with a blade formed from ice. Aiden howled as the cold blade pierced his back; Aiden turned and kicked out with his hind legs, sending the teal stumbling back. Aiden stepped toward the teal, his tail spade whipping out to stab the brown in the foreleg. Aiden spun to avoid the a blast of fire from the orange and, with his back now facing the teal, lashed out with his hind legs and caught the teal in the chest.

A quiet growl caught Aiden's attention. He looked over to see his master Spyro stalking along the corridors and heading to the brawling group.

"Mas-" Aiden didn't finish his call, because the teal formed an axe out of ice and cut off Aiden's head.

**A/N: Another cliffhanger. You must hate me now. I don't. I reveal that Aiden is nice and kind, only to cut his head off in the next scene. Who saw that coming? Seriously? Okay, I am going to respond to the review that my story got**

**FrostTheDragoness: Thank you for your enthusiasm. It makes happy that people can't wait for my next update. And Xavier, happy wife, happy life.**

**Unit Omicron: Good, that was the point of the letters. I had a friend say that Gahiji was 'evil'. That was my way of saying 'take another look'. Pyre will still be in the story, but I don't know what I will be doing with her. Perhaps some boy-advice later on. I do plan to expand, but later. Perhaps the next chapter. I kinda want to move onto the next area. The thanks for spelling and grammar go to my beta, Dragon. of. Chaos97.**

**Zilla0128: As long as you review, I don't care how late you are. And thank you for the humor-slip-ins. I am glad that I can do humor that isn't just random and slap stick. As for Gahiji, I have several ideas for him, each of them a twist. I hope I surprise you with them. Until the next review.**

**SOLI DEO GLORIA**


	19. The Hopeless One

**A/N: I am back. You had to wait a week to find out what happens to Aiden. Well, he had his head cut off, not much else to happen. But now you get to see what Spyro does. Take a guess, and I hope that I surprise you all. Also, thank you, to all of you who reviewed the last chapter. I will respond to your reviews at the end of this chapter. Please review my story, you know how I love to hear you opinions. I will always respond to your reviews, in both PM and in the next chapter. One last thing, hares, which are basically big fluffy bunnies, will be sentient. That is enough chit-chat, let's move onto the chapter.**

**Also, I didn't know that the Pool of Visions room was called the Grotto. I will now start referring to it as such.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs.**

Chapter 18: The Hopeless One

Ignitus stared into Pool of Visions, sitting on the red cushion in the room. The other five cushions: green, silver, black, yellow, and light blue: were empty. He was in the Grotto, alone and thinking of a thousand things at once. But his thoughts always returned to a prophecy that had been given to him many years ago, after the Temple Raid. The dragon that had come to him had a grayish-blue color, had been wearing a blue cape on his back, a satchel stuffed to the brim with notes and scrolls, and a gem necklace around his neck. The dragon had been angry, and had been yelling about how 'everything is wrong, we have just started down a path of destruction!'

The dragon had left Ignitus with a prophesy, one that contradicted the one the one about the purple savior. When questioned about this, the dragon had taken out the prophesy that Ignitus was talking about, ripped it to shreds and threw it in his face. The dragon had said that 'that prophesy is about as relevant as what was supposed to happen'. Ignitus was shocked at the dragon. He was about to yell at him, but the dragon was gone. He had had the urge to yell at the metallic blue dragon, but as he had turned around, the individual had disappeared. Ignitus looked down to the prophesy that had been given to him, and read it. It seemed to not matter at the time, but now, two of the lines stood out to him.

"_The Grace of__Wind, the Mystery of Shadow, and the Spirit of Fire."_ And also _"The Nobility of Ice, the Strength of Earth, and the Cleverness of Electricity." _Back then, these phrases meant nothing to him. Now, he couldn't help but think of Dimitri and Syra when he thought of the two phrases. "_I wonder, are __they the two that the prophesy spoke of?__" _Ignitus thought as he brought a paw to rub at his chin. He smiled fondly and let his mind wander times long past, when his mate would sit up against his back and rub his chin as a joke. She had been sent to the Shattered Vale, for her own good. But now, they only had the Temple, which was now a base of mercenaries, and the Shattered Vale, which was mostly made up of civilians. The war was lost; all that was left to do was wait for Spyro and Cynder to attack the Temple once more…

No, Ignitus couldn't think like that. Not at all. He was still alive, so were the rest of the guardians, and the Knights and their apprentices. There was still hope. And Ignitus wasn't going to let go of it so easily.

Ignitus' attention was moved to the pool when the waters began to change. It looked like someone had tossed an inkwell into the green waters. The colors swirled till they began to make pictures. He saw flashing image; wolves charging an icy fortress, Dimitri raising an ice shield against a barrage of electricity and metal rods with a chained Volteer in the background., Syra on the head of a massive bucking beast, and Connor with a sword and shield, fighting a wolf that was dressed just like him. The last image was the strangest one; it was a large green and silver dragon lying on an infirmary bed, but yet had not a single scratch on him. It was only there for a second before it disappeared. Ignitus tried to digest what he had just seen.

Ignitus recognized the fortress, as well as the place that Dimitri had been in Dante's Freezer. He sighed as he realized that he would have to send out Dimitri and Syra again. But at least this time they would have someone to safe guard them. Connor would have to go, according to the vision.

"That is right. I will be there." Ignitus jumped as he turned around in time to see Angel flow her way into the Grotto. The wind guardian never really seemed to walk. She had such a disproportionate grace to her movements that she seemed to slide everywhere. She had a long, wooden tube strapped to her side. It was the same tube that painters used to carry their creations.

"Angel, what do you mean?" Ignitus said as he regained his composure.

"You were thinking out loud." Angel said coolly as she stepped to the silver cushion and sat down.

"How long have I been doing that?" Ignitus asked his comrade and friend. The two of them were never the best of friends, but they were got along well enough to be considered considered as such.

"Since you started to talk about Salama." Angel said as she brought a paw up to inspect her claws. Ignitus responded with an 'oh'. "There is nothing wrong with missing your mate. You're not the only one." She said as she looked at the light blue cushion sadly.

"Don't worry, Cyril will be fine. He is to proud to let himself die like a prisoner." Ignitus joked grimly. Angel's passive mask returned as she looked back to Ignitus.

"You weren't 'proud' enough to keep yourself from falling into depression." Angel replied to Ignitus' joke, causing the fire dragon's head to drop.

"Who says I still do not hold onto that depression?" He said as he stared down at the ground. Angel looked upset as Ignitus continued talking. "I was taken to safety, and left my friends, my brothers, to Spyro and Cynder. I thought that Dimitri bringing you back would bring hope back, and it has, to all. All but me, that is." Angel remained silent as he continued to speak. "But every time I look at you, I see Cyril being thrown across the dojo, and then I remember how I had to leave them." Ignitus sighed as he looked to the ground. Angel walked over and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, waiting for him to stop so that she could give him something that she had found.

"I found this when I was looking through the other guardians rooms. It was addressed to you; Volteer must have forgotten it when he was coming to the Grotto." Angel said as she removed the wooden tube and set it on the ground by the exit. Angel gave him a curt nod, leaving after saying "There are still some whose hope's foundation is on your shoulders. "

It was after a few hours of staring into the pool without seeing anything that made the Fire Guardian finally decide to retire to his he was walking out of the Grotto, his paw bumped against the wooden tube. He picked it up and read the inscription. _To: Master Ignitus, Guardian of Fire. From: Salama._ Ignitus grip tightened around the tube. He slung it over his shoulder and ran off to his room, wanting the privacy of his chambers to look at the contents of the tube.

The guardian's chambers were the same as the students, but much larger. Ignitus closed the door as he entered. He went to the desk off at the side of the room. He removed the lid and slid out a large piece of canvas. He unrolled it, and smiled as he saw the painting.

The painting depicted to dragons, a red one and a yellow one with dark blue zigzag lines from her snout to the base of her neck. Their necks were twisted around each others, their snouts pressed together. There were tints of red on both of their cheeks, and they seemed to be smiling happily despite this. Ignitus smiled as he stared at the picture. He turned it around and read the print on the back. _Told you I pay attention __to detail. Can you guess when this was? Salama_. Ignitus turned it around and took another look at it.

"It's our first kiss." Ignitus said with a small smile as he remembered the night. He noticed that a small note had fallen out of the tube. Setting the painting done gently, so gently that one might think it would turn to ashes at a gust of wind. Looking to the note, he read it.

_This is for you. I started this painting the day after I arrived in the Shattered Vale. It took me this long, but it is the best painting I have ever made. And what better then to paint us, in the one memory I couldn't get out of my head since I left? It may sound sappy, but I miss you. Remember, my hope rests on your shoulders. Till next time, sweety._

"Oh, Salama, I miss you so." Ignitus said to himself as he looked back to the picture. Smiling to himself, he framed the picture and placed it on the wall, right where he would be looking whenever he would wake up. He smiled once more, falling asleep as he looked at the gift that his mate had given him.

≤Ω≥

Meanwhile, Connor was carrying the barely awake Syra. She was lying with her back across his held out arms; her own forelegs were wrapped around his neck with her head resting against his shoulder. Her tail was loosely wrapped around his leg, but there was enough slack that he could walk without being hampered by it. He continued to carry the sleepy hatchling till they made it to their shared room. Using his foot, Connor opened the door and entered. He slid Syra onto the cushion, the hatchling cooing in her sleep. Her legs ran a little, as if she was chasing something.

The old wolf smiled as he turned and went out of their room, deciding to wait a bit before retiring to his room. He walked out and leaned against the door, inspecting his harness before removing the knife from the sheath on his shoulder and twirling it around. He was there for a while before someone stopped and looked at him.

It was a brown hare. He was wearing a pair of green pants reaching down to his knees, and were tied off at the knees. He had medicinal wrap around his mid-section, as well as his upper right arm. The hare stopped and looked at Connor. He smiled and walked over the wolf.

"Hey, you were that fighter, at the tavern." The hare said as he walked over the old brown wolf. Connor looked to the hare question. It took him a while to recognize him.

"You were that watcher that asked my name." Connor said as the memory came to him.

"Yeah. As soon as I saw you back then, I put all my bets on you." The hare said. "And you know what? I am still betting on you. My name's Turner." The hare said with a smile and a wink before walking away.

Connor sighed as he turned and walked back into the room. He saw that Syra, while sleeping, was distressed. She tossed and turned, her forelegs reaching out to grab at nothing, which only made her more distressed. She let out a helpless whine. Connor sighed as he removed his harness and coat, draping them across a chair. He walked over the bed, grumbling along the way.

He crawled onto the bed, lying down near Syra. As soon as one of her flailing paws came into contact with him, she pulled herself over to him. Her tail wrapped around his leg as she lay on top of him, draping her forelegs on top of his shoulders and resting her head on his neck. Connor was out to remove Syra and get a little more comfortable, but what she did next stopped.

Nuzzling his chin, she whispered out "Daddy" in a dream induced stupor. Connor smiled at the young hatchling, no longer feeling the need to make himself more comfortable, bringing his paws behind his head. He closed his eyes and let himself drift to sleep.

≤Ω≥

Spyro was on his way to Aiden's chambers. The satchel at his side held order's for Aiden's next mission. He continued to walk silently, not even his claws making a sound. He may put up a front about stealth and other such underhand tactics as 'weak' and 'cowardly', but he would be a fool to scorn such useful tools. He kept on walking, but stopped for a second when he heard the sounds of battle. He walked faster, but still kept utterly quiet. When he heard Aiden's pained howl, he picked up the pace even more. The fact that it was _Aiden's __(Consider italicizing this.)_howl confused him. He arrived in time to see Aiden kick a teal dragon in the chest with his hind legs. The Terror of the Lands let a out a quiet growl as he watched the assassins attack his bodyguard, preparing to go and help. Aiden seemed to take immediate notice to his master's presence

"Mas-" Aiden never finished what he was saying as the teal dragon came back with his tail covered in an ice axe. The teal lopped off Aiden's head, then noticed that Spyro was standing right there. "It is the Demon! Let's get out of here!" The teal dragon yelled as he saw Spyro in the hall. They turned to run, with the brown dragon in the lead.

Spyro shifted through the shadows at his feet. He rose in front of the brown dragon, shoving his foreleg forward with as much strength as possible. The brown dragon stooped dead as Spyro's paw went _into_ the brown's chest. The brown dragon stared down at the purple arm protruding from his chest before looking back up to Spyro. The purple dragon's soulless gaze had the embers of rage smoldering in them. Without warning, Spyro's entire arm ignited, burning the dragon from the inside. It was a few agonizing seconds before the fires reach the brown's heart and caused him to die. Without warning, writhing shadows burst out across Spyro's body and his eyes turned to glowing white orbs; the flames that were still on his arm traveled into the browns body and continued to burn the dead body.

Dark Spyro regarded the two assassins for a moment before tossing his head back and unleashing a massive and terrifying roar. The remaining two assassins turned tail and ran, running as fast as they possibly could. They couldn't run fast enough. Dark Spyro leapt and landed on the orange one. His right paw gripped the assassin's wing. With a sharp yank, he tore the wing off and tossed it off of the tower. With this left paw, he tore off the other wing. The assassin was crying out in pain now. Dark Spyro stepped off of the dragon, looked down at him, and then threw him through a window and out of the tower, almost savoring the sounds of the assassin's screams of terror as he fell helpless to his death.

The teal one tried to run; but Dark Spyro leapt in front of him and grabbed him by the throat. He reared up on his hind legs, holding the teal above the ground. A snarl slowly made its way onto Dark Spyro's mouth.

"You killed Aiden. Why?" The now-demonic dragon asked with a distorted voice. It took a while for the teal to respond, and when he did, it was with the courage only a dead man could muster.

"He mattered to you." The teal snarled back. Utterly calm, the purple dragon held up his free paw. A perfect ball of energy formed on it, the right half being black, and the left half being white.

"I am going to tear your soul from your body." Dark Spyro said, completely calm. The Fallen Savior slammed the ball of energy into the teal's chest; the effect was instant. The teal tossed his head back and screamed in agony, feeling like his flesh was being ripped from his bones. The teal continued to scream, but Dark Spyro showed no form of amusement. All of a sudden, the teal's body stopped moving. It just hung from Spyro's paw like a rag doll. Spyro dropped the body as the darkness faded from his scales.

He turned and walked over to the headless body of his body guard. He sighed as he stared at Aiden's dead body.

"My guard, why have you been so careless?" Spyro said, with the twinges of an emotion that he had not felt for years in his voice. The twinges of sadness. Spyro bowed his head and fetched a red gem out of the bag that had Aiden's orders in them. He held it to the body, placing the head back onto the stump of a neck. It took a while, but the dead body absorbed the gem and reattached the head. But it couldn't bring the green dragon back to life. The sound of a door opening alerted Spyro. He looked up slowly and saw Aiden's slave, Keeja. She gasped and rushed to the down general.

"Master!" She cried out as she knelt by Aiden and prodded him with her muzzle. "Master…" She whimpered as she looked at his lifeless body. Spyro bowed his head, but before he could give up, an idea came to him.

"Slave, go and prepare a bed at the infirmary." Spyro said as he stared down at the body with a new determination in his eyes.

"Yes, master Corvo" She said as she got up and walked away. But Spyro's tail coiled around her ankle and stopped her in her tracks. "And then, I have some questions for you."  
"What do you mean, master Corvo?" Keeja asked.

"Why you do not have your collar on, why Aiden's scent is all over you and vice-versa, why could Aiden feel pain? And you are the only one who can answer them." Spyro said with emptiness in his voice. Keeja swallowed nervously.

"Yes, master Corvo."

**A/N: yes, another boring filler. Don't worry, things should happening next chapter. At least I hope. Not much to say right now, other then please review. I hearing your opinions, and it helps me to become a better writer. On to responding to reviews of my last chapter. I would like to say, for the sake of ease, the reviews that are responded to in here are only for the last chapter. I will still respond via pm to you, but it is easier on me to do it this way.**

**Unit Omicron: Yes, I like cliffhangers. It is my way of going 'come back, next time!'**

**Killing Aiden was a risky move, but I think that it was the right one.**

**FrostTheDragoness: At least his was a quick and painless death. But I guess any death of his would be painless. He can't feel anything. But he could, now why would that be?**

**Xavier, have you no respect for the dead? Or Nightshade?**

**Zilla0128: I am glad my twists are still twisty. If not then they would be, straights. No fun there.**

**He had his head cut off. Not much more you can perish.**

**BlueThunderfanracing: Like I said to Zilla, Aiden had his head cut off. Not much more can happen.**

**Memmola: I surprised you with his missing head, then with his pain. Or that other way around. I don't care. You are the only one who pointed that out. You win.**


	20. The Bonding

**A/N: Hey o', all my readers and reviewers! Thank you for waiting for my next chapter, but I have an announcement to make. Till otherwise stated, my regular update schedule is off. No more Saturday updates. I am sorry, but my life just got a lot more busy and tiring. Football started up, and that is gonna take a chunk of time out of my day. I will try to make Saturday updates, but no more every Saturday like I have been faithful to do. After this update, regular updates are done. On to the story! I am so sorry for how late this update is, but school and football made things much busier. I will try to update as quick as possible.**

**Also, I have a poll up! Vote for your favorite characters. If you don't know how to (don't worry, it took me FOREVER to find out how) then you do it like this. Go to my profile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or any character from the cannon Spyro franchise, I do, however, own my OCs. **

Chapter 19: The Bonding

Syra stirred awake, the dregs of sleep holding her eyes closed. Rubbing her eyes, she rose and stretched her body like a cat. She took a quick scan of her room, Connor was still sleeping, and the moon was still in the sky. Nothing new there**.**Not the toughest training she has ever done, but definitelythe most tiring. _That albino knew how to make a gal run! Spyro's regimes were tough, but it was mostly magic and combat, not conditioning! _She thought to herself.

Syra looked down at Connor, her wolven guard. Blurred memories returned to her, and one word in specific. 'Daddy'. She had called Connor that before she had fallen asleep. It felt, right, and wrong at the same time. She knew who her father was, but he had abandoned her a long time ago. She sighed and decided to clear her head. She simply shifted through the shadows at the foot of the bed and popped out in a random place. She appeared in the Grotto, the Pool of Visions sparkling with a dim glow.

Syra stared at the greenish waters, not knowing what else to do. The waters were completely still; till a few pebbles fell in. They splashed against the surface, sending ripples across the green waters. Syra flinched at the wave-like ripples. It sent her back to a memory that never left her, one that was a testament to Spyro's cruelty.

_ Syra was practically being crushed in Spyro's grip. She was barely older than four at the time. She whimpered as she looked to Spyro's other paw, one that had bite marks on it. Aiden had delivered those marks, and Spyro was not happy. Aiden had already been punished, and now it was her turn. They had been flying for a while now, and Syra was getting scared._

_ "Where are we going?" She called up to the purple as she plucked her courage up._

_ "Quiet, whelp!" Spyro snapped at her. After a while of flying, they arrived over an ocean. There was a massive, viscous, murderous storm. It was like the storm was staring down at any who passed through, ready to devour them in an array of violent winds and waves. The ocean was raging, black waves being thrown across the dangerous waters. The whipping wind and hail stung at Syra, so much she was at the verge of crying._

_ "Where's Aiden!? Please, don't hurt him!" Syra cried out to the large purple dragon carrying her. Spyro just let out a slow and menacing chuckle._

_"I think you should worry about yourself right now, whelp" He said cruelly. It was only a second later that he let go of Syra, letting her fall to the raging ocean beneath them._

≤Ω≥

Dimitri stood in the room of the late Iedus. The Ice Knight stared down at his old mentor's blade sheath, admiring the simplistic and cone shaped design. Good for stabbing, and also for bashing. Dimitri turned it till he found what he was looking for. It was a phrase that Dimitri was looking for, the phrase was _'Equidem Mortem pro libertate, videlicet ut bene moriar'_. Dimitri sighed as he read the words, and translated them to himself 'To die for freedom, is to die well'. Dimitri set the blade sheath down and looked at it solemnly. He looked over to Iedus' suit of armor. It was recovered, along with his body. There was still a stab wound in breast plate, and the neck armor was torn, along with the helmet being mashed. The right foreleg's armor was brittle, but the armor on the left foreleg was completely crumpled. The armor for the right hind leg was fine, except for a few odd scorch marks; the left hind leg armor was close to being metal slag.

All of this was evidence of Iedus' torture at the hands of Spyro. And it would stay like this. If Iedus had never fallen in love with Lyn, than it would be repaired, and he would be cremated with the suit. The ashes would be used to fertilize a tree in the Knight's Garden, and the armor melted down to a plaque that would state his name, title, and dates of birth and death. But Iedus had hadan affair, and had been removed from the knights after his death. He would get none of it now. The revelation that Iedus had taken Lyn as his mate removed him from the knights. He now had none of the rights that a Knight would have, in death or life.

Dimitri turned and walked away from the destroyed armor. He had been coming here ever since he, Syra, and Angel had gotten back. It was a form of memorial; he would pay his respects and leave. He saw Sarah doing the same thing as he every now and then; Iedus was like a father to the female Knight. He was also like a father to Dimitri. Closing his eyes, Dimitri let his mind wander to an old memory.

≤Ω≥

_ A younger Dimitri skidded across the ground. He was in the forest; in a clearing with__circle marked with white chalk__. A training circle, one that Dimitri was currently in with another young dragon. He was only nine at the time. Right now, he was only wearing part of his armor. He was wearing the chain mail, as well as the armor on all four of his legs, but he wasn't wearing his helmet, or his chest and back plates._

_ The other dragon, who was another Knight apprentice and four years older, rushed him and rammed his into Dimitri's side, sending the younger dragon rolling across the dirt circle. The Apprentice's head curved__,__and his__L-shaped horns that started at the back of his head did little to help in combat. Dimitri barely lugged himself up to__dodge__another charge from the Apprentice. With weary limbs, the Dimitri flung himself at the Apprentice, landing on Apprentice's neck and slamming his jaw onto the ground. It was a good staggering move, but the Apprentice was still able to counter. He slammed his fin-like tail spade into Dimitri's side, sending the smaller and younger dragon back onto the dirt. Dimitri tried to rise, but the heavy armor weighed on him, allowing the Apprentice to stomp on Dimitri and pin him._

_ "That'll be enough." Iedus said. He was standing outside of the circle, along with the Knight of Earth. Both of them were observing their apprentices spar. The Apprentice stepped off of Dimitri and leaned down, nosing his head under Dimitri. He stood back up, and slid Dimitri down his neck to rest on his back. He walked out of the ring, carrying Dimitri with him. When he was out of the ring, he let the young and beaten apprentice slide gently off._

_ "Sorry bud, but I can't go easy. It is not like the enemy will go easy on you." The Apprentice said with a sad look on his face. Dimitri smiled weakly at him, wincing as struggled to raise his head and butt it against the Apprentice's._

_ "It's okay, pal. Just training. Now I think I am gonna take a nap…" Dimitri said with a tired smile. As soon as he was done, his head fell to the ground with a soft thump. The Apprentice smiled and nudged Dimitri with his paw._

_ "Come on, we got to get you some gems. We still have another round or two to spar." He said with an amused smile. Dimitri groaned. "Okay, let's go." he said as he barely managed to stand and stumble across the ring to a bin full of green gems. The Apprentice gave a laugh as, when Dimitri reached the gems, he plunged his head in and held it there for__ a short while.__Dimitri felt the warm of new energy spreading through his weary limbs, and he pulled his head from the bin. His armor still weighed on him and made him much slower, but it wasn't so bad now._

_ "Alright, let's go again." Several rounds later, and Dimitri was__once again __lying in a heap outside of the circle. The Apprentice frowned and nudged Dimitri with his nose, trying to get him up. The Apprentice was about to nose under Dimitri ad carry him back to the Knight's Lodge, but he was stopped by Iedus._

_ "Go to the lodge, Richter. I will take care of Dimitri." He said as he used his forepaw to move Dimitri to his back._

_ "Yes, Sir Iedus." The Apprentice said as he turned and sprinted off in the direction of the Lodge. Iedus himself walked in the opposite direction. "I promised to teach him to fish" Iedus muttered._

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Dimitri stopped when he heard the muffled whimpers coming from the Grotto. Curiosity overcame him as he pressed the door open and walked in, seeing Syra hunched over the pool, whimpering and sniffling.

"What do you want?" Syra snapped at Dimitri, having heard him enter.

"Why are you up? It is late." Dimitri stated as he walked up and sat beside her.

"Why does it matter to you?" She asked bitterly, not bothering to match his gaze. Dimitri looked at her sadly. He scooted over till his side was pressed against hers, surprising Syra and bending his neck around hers.

"You can talk: I am good at listening" Dimitri said softly and quietly. Syra looked to the Pool of Visions, blinked back a few tears as the memory of that night returned to her.

≤Ω≥

_ Syra was tumbling through the air, her limbs and wings flailing uselessly__in__the air. Her young and shrill voice rang through the storm, but not enough to be heard of the constant rumble of thunder. She collided with the black and foamy waters, but it was as if she had fallen on to stone. The waves swallowed her hungrily, dragging__her down as far as possible.__It was as if demons had grabbed her feet, their stinging and icy grip dragging her down no matter how hard she kicked her feet and tried to swim. She had no idea where she was facing, harsh currents spinning her so that anywhere could be up. Her eyes stung from the salt infused water, but nothing would help. It felt as if a hive of bees were crawling around in and biting Syra's lungs. They burned, begging her to open her mouth and take a forbidden gulp. But she was young, and couldn't control what was happening. Her mouth shot open, drawing in the briny black water into her lungs._

_ Through the largest but of luck Syra ever had, her head broke the surface. Before she could take of grateful breath of air, a massive wave fell on her. There was a crack, and Syra screamed as she had never before. Her entire chest was torn apart by searing agony. But her cries did little to calm the thrashing waves, and not even when she had been battered to near unconsciousness did any darkness, whether of the depths or of her sight, eased any of her pain. She felt something wrap around her, pulling her from the depths and into the sky. Her body was racked with pain and terror filled sobs, her voice small compared to the uproar of the gale._

_ "Learned your lesson yet?" The malevolent voice of Spyro asked her. Syra was barely able to nod through her pitiful wailing. "Are you sure? I don't think so."_

_Syra's eyes widened. "no… NO PLEASE!" She shrieked. But Spyro paid no heed as he released his grip, letting Syra flail and cry as she fell towards those waves, those hungry, ravenous waves._

≤Ω≥

Syra finished telling her story to Dimitri. By this time, she had turned herself around and had her forelegs locked around Dimitri's back, holding him like he was a piece of driftwood on that very same storm. She didn't say anything about Aiden, or punishment. That would come later. Dimitri held without wavering, his neck still curled around hers as she cried into his shoulder.

"So dark, so cold…" Syra whimpered, not knowing if she was talking about the ocean, or Spyro's eyes, Dimitri said nothing, holding Syra and letting her cry, cooing comfortingly to her and keeping her warm. After a while, Syra calmed down. She was still crying, but she could think straight now; straight enough to release Dimitri and take a step backward.

"I am sorry; I shouldn't have broken down like that. But, thanks, for listening" Syra said as she looked at Dimitri. The young ice knight smiled.

"I couldn't stand aside and leave you in misery like that." He bowed. "It was my pleasure to help you. And, thank you. For opening up to me like that." Dimitri finished with a smile. Syra looked to him, an unknown emotion on her face.

"Don't feel too honored. You were there, and I need a bitof...help"Syra said a bit rudely, but Dimitri paid no heed to her tone. They sat there for a bit, till Syra asked a question.

"Dimitri, what is it like? To have a father?" Dimitri thought back to when Iedus was still alive, a sad look entering his eyes.

"I, I don't know how to describe it. It is like, having someone who will always be there, to protect and guide you. I don't quite understand myself." Dimitri admitted. "But, you should know. Connor seems to be fond of you. Perhaps you should look to him as a father"

Syra shook her head. "I do not need a father. Just a way to Warfang."

"Why are you so intent on getting to Warfang?" Dimitri asked her finally. Syra looked to him and thought if she should answer. She had already told him of that night.

"It is…safe. Impenetrable." She said, a bit of longing in her voice. "The people there would have looked after me, taken care of me. I would be somewhere I can call home." Syra revealed, a sad look entering her eye. She wrapped her tail around Dimitri's foreleg. "Do you think I will ever find a place like that, Dimitri?" She asked him, sadness drenching his voice. Dimitri brought his tail around and wrapped it around her foreleg.

"The place you are looking for is not a location, but a person." Dimitri said as he looked into her eyes, still sparkling with youth and tears. "You are looking for a father. And I think, you have found one." Dimitri said as Connor walked into the Grotto.

"Syra, you should be sleeping." The wolf said as he entered. But as he saw the Pool of Visions, his first time, he faltered a bit. "C-come on Syra, we should be sleeping." Connor said as he cast a wary glance at the pool. Syra followed Connor out of the Grotto, leaving Dimitri to think about what it meant to have a father, and comparing that to his master, his friend. Comparing what it meant to have a father to Iedus.

**A/N: Once more, I am sorry for the really late update. But I am so glad this is out. Don't expect any quick updates, and if they are, don't expect them to be long. We will be moving onto Dante's Freezer soon, perhaps in a chapter or to. Time to respond to reviews.**

**Unit Omicron: It is a pleasure to have be a beta reader.**

**Good, this was an Ignitus developing chapter. Now, he has a family. But will he still die? So many other things are different. Spyro is one of them, as you pointed out.**

**FrostTheDragoness: Of course there would be a twist! I am me! And, sorry that you had to wait so long for this chapter.**

**DragonMast000: I am very, _very_ flattered by your attention. I hope the rest of this story is as good as the beginning.**

**Zilla0128: Yes, Spyro does have a plan for Aiden's body, a very, _interesting_ plan. Heh heh hehhhhh….**

**BlueThunderfanracing: It is sad, and Aiden was one of my favorite character's as well.**

**Avimus: You never know what Spyro is planning. He is quite... different in this story. Of course I brought Salama back, you think I was just gonna drop her? No, she will be mentioned a few more times, I am not entirely sure.**


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